Draymond Green made his return to the Warriors lineup on Monday night when the club hosted the Utah Jazz at Chase Center, but his night ended a tad earlier than that of his teammates.
Green was ejected with about 8:30 remaining in the game’s fourth quarter and with Golden State trailing Utah by 13 points. They would eventually lose, 122-108.
It was Green’s first action since November 1, as a torn ligament in his left index finger has kept him on the shelf for the past five games.
Noticeably rusty, Green would finish the night with just four points on 2-for-7 shooting from the field. He did also have seven rebounds and four assists, though.
The fateful play that led to his ejection occurred after Mike Conley collided with Green. Green naturally wanted a charge, but a block was called. Official Sean Wright gave Green a technical for arguing and when Draymond was persistent in his complaint, Wright gave him a second technical foul, disqualifying him from the contest.
Andddd Draymond Green just got ejected. pic.twitter.com/LuLR8l3YeU
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) November 12, 2019
After the contest, Green explained himself and also passively told us that his persistence in arguing the call was a result of Wright telling him “Don’t talk.”
According to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, the following were Green’s comments on the incident:
“I disagreed with that call,” Green explained after the game. “And I’m never going to be OK with another grown man telling me, ‘Don’t talk.’ If you feel like you got the call wrong, or right, you don’t tell me not to talk. I’m a grown man. I got my own kids. So that’s what happened.”
Green also spoke a bit about what it’s like playing without Stephen Curry and what he will have to do to bust up the rust that his five-game absence may have caused to accumulate.
“Just got to get a rhythm again — and my wind,” Green said. “Ten days, opened those lungs up like you do in the game, it’s a little different. Obviously, I wasn’t able to practice or nothing. We had [Sunday] off, and the team was gone for a week, so I haven’t been able to play. I’ve just been working out, and that’s always different; so I just got to get my wind back, but that will come back pretty fast.”
With Monday’s ejection, Green became the first player to be ejected from a contest at Chase Center—a distinction that nobody is surprised he earned.
The Warriors will next travel to Los Angeles to do battle with the Lakers on Wednesday night.