"This clown is shameless": Draymond Green’s theatrics after taking elbow in heated Warriors-Clippers matchup leaves NBA fans in stitches
Draymond Green took an elbow to his face during the third quarter of Wednesday's heated matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the LA Clippers. Green took the apparent hit from Clippers center Ivica Zubac while attempting to grab an offensive rebound and fell to the ground, clutching his jaw.
The game continued as he lay on the court, waiting for a call. The players of both teams went back and forth and again, but Green remained on the floor.
Watch the incident here:
According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Green underwent concussion testing in the locker room. Soon after, the team's medical personnel cleared the four-time NBA champion to return to the game and help the Golden State Warriors.
NBA fans reacted to the incident by saying that Draymond Green has gone soft. Many have speculated that he was faking or flopping to get a foul call.
"This clown is shameless," a fan wrote.
Even Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic continued his ongoing feud with Draymond Green and trolled him for the incident.
The incident gave a small scare to Warriors fans. Injuries have been a significant stumbling block for the team this season, and it briefly looked like they might have to absorb another blow.
Clippers snap Warriors season-high winning streak
Wednesday's game concluded with the LA Clippers clinching a 130-125 win despite Stephen Curry's stellar performance with 41 points, four rebounds and four assists. Draymond Green finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes.
The Golden State Warriors led most of the contest and started the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead. Despite that, they fell to the Clippers 44-28 in the fourth quarter, snapping their season-high five-game winning streak on home ground. Their loss also meant coach Steve Kerr was denied a bid at his 500th career victory.
As the matchup neared the end, the Warriors were putting up a great effort to bounce back. After the Clippers led 124-117 following Amir Coffey’s second 3-pointer of the game, Curry came back with his own 3 off a pass from Podziemski with 55.7 seconds remaining.
Curry later scored a coast-to-coast drive to cut the gap to 128-125, but Andrew Wiggins fouled James Harden and made a pair of free throws to close it out.
Following Wednesday's game, the Clippers maintain the third spot in the Western Conference, improving to 36-17 on the season. On the other hand, the Warriors slipped to 26-26 and hold the 10th spot on the Western Conference table.