"Your middle name is flagrant" - Draymond Green catches strays from Kenny Smith amid debate on Karl-Anthony Towns' foul
Draymond Green caught strays from Kenny Smith on the sets of "Inside The NBA" as the TNT crew debated Karl-Anthony Towns' offensive foul on P.J. Washington in Tuesday's Game 5. Towns elbowed Washington and got whistled for it in the third quarter, his fourth of the contest. Charles Barkley said that it should have been called a "flagrant" foul because of contact to the face.
Meanwhile, Smith debated it, saying that Towns was in his natural shooting motion, so it didn't warrant a harsher punishment than a common foul. Green jumped in and agreed with Barkley's take, but it didn't go well for him. Smith hilariously mocked the Warriors forward:
"Your middle name is flagrant."
Kenny Smith was referring to Draymond Green's past troubles with flagrant fouls that have gotten him ejected or suspended. The Warriors forward is renowned for some of his "non-basketball plays." Green has been suspended once in the finals in 2016 against the Cleveland Cavaliers for hitting LeBron James below the belt.
This past year, he was suspended for a combined 17 games after putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold in November and punching Jusuf Nurkic in the face a month later.
Karl-Anthony Towns barely escapes fouling out with season on the line
The Timberwolves won Game 4 105-100 behind clutch efforts from Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. The former had 29 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists on 44.0% shooting, while Towns finished with 25 points and five rebounds on 9 of 12 shots, including 4 of 5 from 3.
However, Towns nearly jeopardized the Timberwolves' season with his foul trouble. He racked up five fouls in three quarters alone, with two quick ones, including the elbow on P.J. Washington in the third frame. It was a close game, which could have gone either way.
With Towns returning to form and playing well after an 0 for 8 shooting night from deep in Game 3, his presence was critical to the Timberwolves' hopes of saving the season. The All-Star showed solid composure in the fourth period to avoid foul trouble with 7:29 minutes of action.
Towns hit three big shots from the arc to tally 10 points in the final quarter, which ultimately proved decisive. His struggles before Game 4 have primarily led to Minnesota being in a 0-3 hole.
The Timberwolves will hope Karl-Anthony Towns continues this run, as that will elevate their chances of extending this series to six games with a win at home in Game 5.