-
Kendra AndrewsESPN
SAN FRANCISCO — The NBA has suspended Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for one game for stepping on the chest of the Sacramento Kings‘ Domantas Sabonis, the league announced Tuesday night.
“The suspension was based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts,” the NBA said in a statement.
Green will serve his suspension Thursday when the Warriors host the Kings for Game 3 at Chase Center. Sacramento holds a 2-0 lead in the series.
The incident between Green and Sabonis occurred with 7:03 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Kings’ 114-106 Game 2 win Monday.
After Sabonis slipped and fell in the paint, he grabbed Green’s right leg. Green initially shook off Sabonis’ grip and then took a hard step right on Sabonis’ chest.
Sabonis stayed down for a few minutes as officials reviewed the play. He was called for a technical foul for grabbing Green’s leg, and Green was given a flagrant foul 2 that led to an automatic ejection.
“When I fell, I was protecting myself, and then the incident happened,” Sabonis said after the game. “There is no room for that in our game today.”
Sabonis suffered a bruised sternum and is questionable for Game 3, the Kings announced Tuesday night.
“My leg got grabbed — the second time in two nights — and the referee is just watching. I got to land my foot somewhere, and I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far,” Green said when explaining his side of the incident. “I can only step so far with someone pulling my leg away.”
Green has been called for six flagrant fouls and 27 technical fouls in 147 career playoff games.
This is the second time Green will serve a suspension during the playoffs. The other occurred in the 2016 NBA Finals after he accumulated too many flagrant fouls in the playoffs that season, culminating in Green hitting LeBron James in the groin after the two got tangled up in Game 4. Earlier in those playoffs, Green was ejected for kicking Oklahoma City‘s Steven Adams in the groin.
In 2018, the Warriors suspended Green for one game without pay for “conduct detrimental to the team” following an altercation with then-teammate Kevin Durant. Earlier this season, Green spent time away from the team after punching Warriors guard Jordan Poole during practice.
Source: www.espn.com