The Warriors are likely to be hoping Draymond Green can avoid suspension after he picked up a flagrant foul on Sunday.
Green kicked Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams in the groin while attempting a shot in the second quarter of the Western Conference finals Game 3.
The kick left Adams doubled over on the floor and earned the flagrant call after officials looked at the instant replay. The NBA are expected to examine the play and determine whether it merits a ban for the All-Star Green.
The timing of the incident is ominous for the Warriors, coming on the same day the league suspended Cleveland guard Dahntay Jones for one game after he struck a Toronto player in their Eastern Conference finals showdown on Saturday.
“I do not think I will get suspended,” Green told reporters.
“I followed through on the shot and my leg went up. I am not trying to kick someone in the mid-section. I am sure he wants to have kids one day, I am not trying to end that on the basketball court. I am not sure how anyone can say I did that on purpose,” he added.
Green and Adams have engaged in a testy sequence of exchanges during this series and the Golden State forward also kneed the New Zealander in the groin during Game 2, prompting the Thunder center to say his opponent had “peaked with annoyingness” following the contest.
“I mean, it happened before. He is pretty accurate, that guy,” Adams said.
Green has four technical fouls in the playoffs, three shy of earning a suspension, along with two flagrant fouls.
Two more flagrant-one calls against him, or a single flagrant-two ejection would also force him to sit out one game.
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