The Golden State Warriors fell to the Charlotte Hornets in overtime 120-113 on Saturday, beginning both their first back-to-back and multi-game road trip of the season with a hard-fought yet ultimately frustrating defeat. Don't blame Draymond Green for his team's loss to an objectively inferior opponent, though.

His fingerprints were all over Golden State's second-half comeback, a 19-point swing driven mostly by dogged team-wide defense after a lackadaisical start and the Warriors committing to small-ball early. Neither development would've been possible without the unique two-way presence provided by Green, of course, and his impact was even more palpable than normal late in the game, when he got to the rim for a handful of scores playing pick-and-roll with Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole.

Steve Kerr sung Green's all-around praises after the game, taking special note to re-stake the former Defensive Player of the Year's claim as basketball's best defender.

“Draymond's been playing great. He's the best defensive player in the world,” Kerr said,” and offensively, particularly when we go small he causes all kinds of havoc in the pick-and-roll game. You saw that down the stretch.”

Green finished with one steal and three blocks against Charlotte, numbers it seemed like he might've reached in the last five minutes and overtime alone given how much he dictated the action defensively.

He picked P.J. Washington's dribble as Golden State led by two with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, then gave his team another chance to beat the Hornets in overtime, once again ripping the ball from Washington as the Warriors trailed by three. Green was whistled for a foul on the play, but an immediate challenge from Kerr was deemed successful.

Making Green's late-game defense extra impressive? He wreaked all that havoc after picking up his fifth foul with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter.

Green made clear he wasn't satisfied with his team's defensive outing on the postgame podium. He even found fault with his individual performance on that side of the ball, stressing that he needs to be better on the defensive glass—especially when Golden State plays small.

Green said last week that it was on him to fix the Warriors' early-season defensive problems. They've been better since then, but issues persist. Good thing Golden State has an all-time defender like Green in tow to fully right the ship from here.