Draymond Green had the announcers calling him a part of the Splash Triplets on Tuesday as he rained down five threes in Golden State’s 134-120 win over the Lakers.
However, he wasn’t in a pleasant mood after the game, as he called out the NBA’s referees for being biased with their officiating.
Green was irate about a play in the third quarter when the Lakers’ Austin Reaves drove to the basket for a layup. As seen below, Green got elbowed in the face by the Lakers guard and sold the no-call by staying on the floor for several seconds.
After being helped to his feet by Stephen Curry, a furious Green approached the referees and sought an explanation.
Due to Green’s history of getting ejected, Curry and several other teammates tried to calm him down. The Warriors even called a timeout to ensure Green wouldn’t bark his way out of yet another game.
🚨 Draymond Green was Frustrated after this no-call on Austin Reaves’ drive.🤔#LakersVsWarriors #Dubnation #LakeShow #Nba
pic.twitter.com/MJkM0NFRMt— BasketBall Ballers (@BasketBballer) April 10, 2024
After the game, Green let it rip on the officials.
“I appreciate the guys being there [to calm me down] because it’s a bit frustrating,” Green said, via Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Austin gashed his elbow and hit me in the face with it. I get hit in the face every single game and I get no foul calls.
“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. I get hit in the face every single night. I’m not sure if it has ever been called. But if I [take] a breath on somebody, they call it a flagrant foul. It’s crazy to me.”
Earlier in the presser, Green also revealed that the referee who didn’t call a foul on Reaves talked to him rudely when he sought an explanation. According to Green, even Curry noticed the referee’s demeanor and felt his teammate deserved better.
“He [Curry] heard how the referee talked to me, and he went immediately from [calming me down] to telling him, ‘Yo, you can’t talk to him like that.’ That’s the wackiest part about all this. You can speak to me however you want, but if I say something back, it’s a tech.”
With 21 career ejections, Green is just nine shy of surpassing Rasheed Wallace for the most in the 21st century.
