Photo: ezra shaw
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected during the fourth quarter of his team's 114-106 Game 2 loss to the Sacramento Kings after stomping on the chest of Kings center Domantas Sabonis Monday (April 17) night.
Sabonis fell over during a rebound attempt and appeared to grab Green's foot before the four-time NBA champion shook off Sabonis' grip and drove his foot into the center's chest. Green then kicked up his feet and ran back down the court before officials reviewed the incident with 7:03 remaining
Sabonis was down on the court during the review, which eventually resulted in a technical foul on Sabonis for grabbing Green's leg and a flagrant foul 2 on Green for the stomp, which is an automatic ejection.
"When I fell, I was protecting myself, and then the incident happened," Sabonis said after the game via ESPN. "There is no room for that in our game today."
X-rays on Sabonis' sternum were negative and the 26-year-old continued to play, finishing Monday's 24 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a team-best 40 minutes of play. Green recorded eight points, four rebounds, five assists and one block prior to his ejection and said he's now had his leg held twice in the ongoing series, with the first incident involving Kings guard Malik Monk in Game 1.
"My leg got grabbed -- the second time in two nights -- and the referee is just watching," Green said after the game via ESPN. "I got to land my foot somewhere, and I'm not the most flexible person, so it's not stretching that far. ... I can only step so far with someone pulling my leg away."
"What are you going to do when someone grabs your foot when you're running full speed?" asked Warriors teammate Klay Thompson via ESPN. "That's not cool. I'm not saying what Draymond did was right, but you can't just grab somebody's foot taking off in a full sprint."
The Kings took a 2-0 series lead with Monday's win, having previously defeated the Warriors, 126-123, in Game 1 on Saturday (April 15).
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