Draymond Green was at it again on Wednesday night.
Out East to take on the Orlando Magic, the Golden State Warriors watched Paolo Banchero bulldoze Andrew Wiggins to the rim early in the first quarter. As Banchero high-fived his teammates to celebrate the and-one bucket, Green could be seen chirping with the refs.
The official quickly handed the Warriors’ star a technical … but Green didn’t take the warning. Instead, he continued to exchange words with the referee as teammates and coaches tried to defuse the situation. As Green started to walk back toward the bench, he said something that caused the ref to blow his whistle again.
Of course, the second technical meant an immediate ejection from the game. We were no more than 3 minutes and 36 seconds into the matchup between the Warriors and Magic, folks.
You can check out the sequence here:
You could practically tell Green knew that second T was coming. The veteran’s pace didn’t change at all as he walked toward the bench and straight back toward the locker room.
Not the First Time for Draymond Green
The Warriors are in no position to mess around. They sit just 1.0 game ahead of the Houston Rockets for the final Play-In Tournament spot in the Western Conference. Houston has been on an absolute tear in recent weeks with a 9-1 record in their last 10 games. They’ve shown no signs of slowing down, which means this Warriors team can’t afford emotional mistakes.
Unfortunately, however, keeping his temper in check has been a long-standing issue for Green. The four-time champion was suspended five games earlier this season for putting Rudy Gobert into a headlock during a scuffle against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He then received an indefinite suspension for hitting Jusuf Nurkic during a game against the Phoenix Suns in December. Green would ultimately miss 16 games.
While no suspension will follow these antics, it could prove equally as costly with the Warriors’ playoff hopes on the line. Every game matters over these final couple of weeks.