Draymond Green earns ‘Draymond Nowitzki’ nickname after clutch jumper in Game 5 vs. Kings

“Draymond Nowitzki.”

In his first game back at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento since being ejected from Game 2, Draymond Green registered a vintage performance when the Golden State Warriors needed it most in a pivotal Game 5 on the road. 

The former Defensive Player of the Year stuffed the boxscore with a season-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field to go along with seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and a block in 32 minutes off the bench on Wednesday. Green even stretched the floor against the Kings, drilling a triple from beyond the arc. Green’s last 21-point performance came on Christmas day against the Houston Rockets in 2019. 

Following his impressive performance in Game 5, the former All-Star earned a new nickname from his teammates and coaches. While praising Green during the postgame press conference on Wednesday, Steve Kerr revealed the forward was being called “Draymond Nowitzki” after knocking down a clutch fadeaway down the stretch in the fourth quarter. 

Draymond was amazing, especially down the stretch. They were calling him ‘Draymond Nowitzki’ after the fadeaway. It was maybe the biggest shot of the game. That and Wiggs hit a fadeaway as well. Those two shots probably were the two that stood out. Obviously Steph and Klay — there were a lot of big shots made in the game, but those two stand out to me when Sacramento played really good defense and those guys knocked down shots at key times. 

Via @NBCSWarriors on Twitter: 

Green’s jumper that later earned a reference to NBA Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki came with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 5. With the shot clock ticking down, Green hit a fading jumper from the key over Harrison Barnes to stretch the Warriors’ lead to three points heading into the final minutes of the game. 

Via @anthonyVslater on Twitter: 

During the first-round playoff series against the Kings, Green is averaging 11.3 points on 42.9% shooting from the floor with 7.5 assists. 6.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. 

With a 3-2 lead in the series, the Warriors will have the chance to close out the Kings on Friday in Game 5 at Chase Center against the Kings.  

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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