Chances are that Draymond Green's ejection didn't cost the Golden State Warriors their sixth straight win on Wednesday. Just because his team came back from a five-point deficit from the time Green was tossed, though, hardly means that Steve Kerr was any less frustrated by the circumstances of his second technical.
Draymond earned an automatic ejection with 1:24 left after tangling with Isaiah Stewart while fighting for rebounding position. The officials called double technicals on the notoriously intense, physical big men after reviewing video of the incident courtside, Green's second of the night.
“I didn't really see what happened at the end when he and Stewart got into it. In my mind it's like do we have to call a double technical and eject a guy from the game because two guys in a really competitive game, in the most competitive basketball league on earth—oh my, who knew?! — they were actually gonna get a little upset with each other?” Kerr said on the postgame podium. “Like, this is the game. This is what people pay to see: competition at its highest form…I prefer in those situations where the officials have the awareness somebody's got a T, we're not gonna kick him out because two guys get into a little a yelling match or whatever it was. If it's earned, it's earned, and maybe I'm totally wrong. If I'm wrong, that's my fault. But I don't really believe there should be double technicals that lead to an ejection for that.”
The sorely depleted Warriors—playing without Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman and JaMychal Green—didn't need Green to tie the game just before the final buzzer, seemingly headed to overtime for the second consecutive game. Klay Thompson scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a game-tying triple off a beautiful out-of-bounds play from Kerr with just one second left.
Saddiq Bey ended the Warriors' five-game winning streak in stunning fashion on the ensuing possession, catching from the sideline to turn for a game-winning three.
The 122-119 loss moves Golden State to 20-19, tied with the Phoenix Suns for eighth in the West.
A little pushing and shoving between Draymond and Isaiah Stewart 👀 pic.twitter.com/U7CWG4iWEe
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 5, 2023
Might the Warriors' surge had continued uninterrupted if Green hadn't been ejected? Maybe not, but that wasn't Kerr's point. Officials have the latitude to consider context behind technical foul calls, especially upon video review, and seemingly elected not to do so with Green, who was clearly trying to avoid further confrontation while separating from Stewart.
Expect Golden State to appeal Green's second technical to the league office, staunchly believing what Kerr was selling whether or not it's ultimately rescinded.
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