Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been suspended one game without pay for stepping on the chest of Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis, the league announced on Tuesday.
Green will serve his suspension on Thursday when the Warriors host the Kings for Game 3 of the series at Chase Center.
Sacramento leads the series 2-0.
The incident occurred with 7:03 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ 114-106 loss to the Kings in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on April 17 at Golden 1 Center.
According to Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations, the suspension was partly based on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts.
Green’s actions were in response to Sabonis grabbing and holding Green’s right ankle after falling to the floor. Green received a Flagrant Foul 2 and was ejected, and Sabonis was assessed a technical foul.
Was it the right call? Probably. Green could have hurt Sabonis badly. However, was Sabonis completely innocent? No, he did grab Green’s leg. Overall, the league probably got it right.
However, the bigger picture is the Warriors are in trouble. If they lose Thursday and go down 3-0, this series is over, so they must get right. Expect an inspired effort without Green from the Warriors.
