Domantas Sabonis responds to Draymond stomp in Kings’ win over Warriors

Sabonis responds to Draymond stomp after Kings’ win in Game 2 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

SACRAMENTO — The first-round playoff bout between the Kings and Golden State Warriors was nothing but a tremendous display of back-and-forth basketball for the series’ opening seven-and-a-half quarters.

It took a turn for the dramatic midway through the fourth quarter of the Kings’ 114-106 victory in Game 2.

Kings center Domantas Sabonis fell to the hardwood floor at Golden 1 Center while fighting for a loose rebound. His arms got tangled up with Warriors forward Draymond Green’s right leg.

Before Green ventured down the court, he stomped his right leg on Sabonis’ chest. Officials reviewed the play, and Sabonis was given a technical foul for grabbing Green’s leg. Green was assessed a technical foul, a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game.

“I got hit earlier in the game in the jaw. So when I fell, I was protecting myself,” Sabonis told reporters in the locker room. “Then obviously, the incident happened. There’s no room for that in our game today.”

Green mentioned in his postgame press conference that his leg was grabbed for the second time in two games.

“I guess ankle grabbing is OK,” Green said.

Sabonis experienced it differently.

“At that point, I get pushed,” Sabonis said. “I’m falling on the floor. I’m just trying to protect myself.”

Teammates rushed to Sabonis’ defense after the win, one that gave the Kings a two-games-to-none series lead.

“It was obvious. I think it was a dirty play,” Kings center Alex Len told NBC Sports California’s Morgan Ragan after the game. “I’ve never seen it before — somebody just stomping a guy on the ground.”

Sabonis remained on the floor for nearly five minutes before walking toward the Kings’ bench while the play was under review. He stayed in the game and played all 7:08 remaining on the clock.

Story continues

“It’s a Flagrant 2 for sure,” Sacramento coach Mike Brown said after the game. “It’ll be interesting to see what the NBA does after they review it.”

The league defines a Flagrant foul penalty 2 as “unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.” Players are allowed three Flagrant points during the postseason, with a Flagrant 1 being one point and a Flagrant 2 being two points. A fourth results in an automatic one-game suspension.

Through two games, Green’s Flagrant points stand at two.

RELATED: Report: X-rays negative on Sabonis after Draymond stomp

“You know going against him and some guys in this league that it’s going to get physical,” Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said at the podium. “Obviously, that shouldn’t happen. At the end of the day, we’re protecting our teammate.”

“I didn’t see [the play] until the replay,” Kings guard Malik Monk said in the Kings locker room. “But that’s Draymond. I don’t really have too much to say on that.”

The score was 91-87 at the time. The Kings’ game-high 14-point lead they built in the third quarter was slowly slipping away, and did shortly after when the Warriors tied it at 95.

But the Kings, with playoff rookies up and down the roster, remained poised and took care of business like a group of grizzled playoff veterans. They outscored the Warriors 19-11 down the stretch to secure the win, with Sabonis still on the floor as the final buzzer sounded.

The series shifts to San Francisco for Game 3 on Thursday with a full serving of drama. It officially feels like the postseason.