"I get thrown under the jail": Draymond Green bashes refs after getting elbowed by Austin Reaves
Draymond Green was furious when discussing one of the no-calls against him during Tuesday's 134-120 win for the Golden State Warriors over the LA Lakers. Reporters asked Green about a heated exchange with an official after Austin Reaves had inadvertently elbowed him in the face. Green believed it was an offensive foul, but the official didn't entertain his plea.
The former DPOY had to be pulled away by his teammates as the situation started to heat up. Green claimed that the official asked him to "get out of his face," which irked the Warriors forward. Steph Curry was the first to drag Green away from there before he got involved and told the ref off.
Green sounded off on that and called out refs, insinuating that their officiating is biased, saying (via Warriors beat writer Anthony Slater):
"I get hit in the face every single game and I get no foul called. I hit someone in the face, I get thrown under the jail. But when I get hit in the face, they don't see it."
Draymond Green has had a poor reputation this season after multiple instances of non-basketball plays that led to his ejection. He put Rudy Gobert in a chokehold in November, which saw him serve a five-game suspension. Green hit Jusuf Nurkic in the face a few weeks later, which attracted a 12-game suspension.
On Mar. 27 against the Orlando Magic, Green was ejected after arguing with a ref after three minutes into the first quarter. It was the fourth time he got tossed out this season. Green got suspended by the league before for his history of "unsportsmanlike" acts, too.
Steph Curry says Draymond Green doesn't need "babysitting"
While it may appear like the Warriors are being alert every time Draymond Green has a conversation with the referees, Steph Curry has made it abundantly clear that it isn't the case. Curry was one of the first to intervene when Green got into it with an official on Tuesday.
However, the two-time MVP said that he was only diffusing that particular situation after sensing tension from both parties.
"He doesn't need a babysitter in that respect. ... Don't get it twisted," Curry said about Green.
He also lauded Green's mentality of moving on from that incident as quickly as he did and regrouping his focus on the task at hand. Green had an excellent game, making five 3s. He made his first five attempts in a row in the first half before missing his final two in the second half.
Meanwhile, Steph Curry went 6-of-6 from the 3, too. However, Draymond Green's early burst gave the Golden State Warriors the momentum required to win this contest.