Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard is not a big fan of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green right now. In just his fourth game back from injury, the notoriously physical Green figured in a violent commotion with The Klaw in their game at Chase Center on Wednesday.
Around the five-minute mark of the final canto, Leonard blew by defender Damion Lee and made a strong drive to the cup. Meeting him at the rim was Green, who made a play for the ball but ended up catching Leonard's arm instead. The sheer impact of the collision caused both players to lose their balance and fall face-first to the hard floor.
Leonard, however, came out at the worst end of it, as he fumed in anger after getting up.
Draymond Green was quick to express his apologies, but the peeved Clippers star was clearly having none of it. Kawhi Leonard, after all, has recently started playing with a protective mask after getting bloodied by his own teammate Serge Ibaka.
Luckily for the Dubs, Green was only assessed with a Flagrant Foul 1 call and was allowed to stay in the ball game.
Kawhi is certainly known for being a calm player for most of his career, but it's hard to blame him for losing his marbles on this one. Green, for his part, does have a reputation for employing dirty tactics to his opponents in the past. The one-time Defensive Player of the Year did blatantly kick Steven Adams multiple times in the groin in the postseason a few seasons back.
Leonard had the last laugh, though, as the Clippers came away with a hard-fought 108-101 road win. Leonard and fellow superstar Paul George finished with 21 markers apiece. Green, on the other hand, had four points, six rebounds and six dimes in the losing effort.