Damian Lillard defends Warriors’ Draymond Green after stomping ejection
Draymond #Draymond
Warriors big man Draymond Green had his leg grabbed by Kings center Domantas Sabonis then stomped on Sabonis’ chest, resulting in an ejection during the fourth quarter of Golden State’s 114-106 loss to Sacramento to put the Dubs in a 2-0 series hole to the Kings.
That much wasn’t up for debate.
How you divvied up the flagrants and technicals and personal fouls between the two — that much was maybe up for debate.
But Portland Trail Blazers star/known Draymond Green pal Damian Lillard tried to debate the undebatable on Monday night suggesting the whole thing was actually just one big accident.
“Take foul on Sabonis … I didn’t think Dray tried to step down … that’s just how his balance ended up,” he tweeted along with a shrugging emoji.
Video replays pretty convincingly suggest otherwise, as does a lifetime of playoff “incidents” for Green — including an ejection against the Grizzlies during last year’s march to an NBA title — but Lillard wasn’t having it, nor was Green. Green said during his post-game comments when asked about the stomp: “My leg got grabbed… I gotta land my foot somewhere and I’m not the most flexible person.”
Lillard wasn’t the only current or former NBA player who weighed in on Twitter though. San Antonio Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan said “Sabonis should get a flagrant too” in a tweet with a shrugging emoji. (Sabonis did get a technical after a review.)
Green’s teammate, Klay Thompson, didn’t quite go as far as Lillard, saying that what Green did was wrong but it was kicked off by “dirty” play by Sabonis. “What are you gonna do when someone grabs your foot when you’re running full speed? That’s a dirty — I mean, fully grabs your foot and yanks on you? That’s not cool, man,” Thompson said. “Not saying what Draymond did was right, but you can’t just grab someone’s foot when they’re taking off on a full sprint… I don’t do that. That’s crazy.”
One-time Sacramento King Isaiah Thomas also jumped into the fray, saying “That’s not a T!!!!! He was grabbing his leg.”