The pair got into a scuffle not even a minute into Game 4 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs Sunday afternoon, and in the first quarter of Wednesday night’s Game 5, the two went right back at it.
Unlike the Game 4 altercation, which resulted in technical fouls for both players, only Gordon was penalized in the Game 5 tiff, ostensibly for dropping the ball on Green. The Warriors star was on the ground after Gordon committed an offensive foul by bowling Green over.
After the ball was dropped on Green, the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year did several things in retaliation that somehow did not land him a technical foul of his own. While on the ground, Green attempted to grab one of Gordon’s legs before getting stopped by an official. Then, as the teams walked over to the other side of the court for Stephen Curry’s technical free throw (which he missed! again!), Green pursued Gordon and gently bumped into him from behind, once again requiring an official to separate the two.
Furthermore, as Curry was shooting his free throw, Green appeared to repeatedly call Gordon a particularly rude name at a loud volume.
Other players in the NBA, including Green himself, have been called for technical fouls over far less. Either Draymond got massively lucky, or he’s finally mastered the art of identifying the line he cannot cross and getting as close as he possible can to it.
Occam’s razor indicates it is probably the former.
