Kings & Warriors players react to Draymond Green, Domantas Sabonis incident

It wouldn’t be an NBA Playoff series without some in-game controversy.

During Monday night’s game between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, center Domantas Sabonis and forward Draymond Green were involved in a tie-up that resulted in Green’s ejection from the game for the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter.

Following a missed field goal attempt from Kings guard Malik Monk, Sabonis went to the floor while attempting to get in position for the rebound. As Sabonis met the floor, his left arm wrapped around Green’s leg–something that Green has said was deliberate, while Sabonis claims he was protecting his face from being stepped on.

Green broke free of Sabonis’ arm by lifting his right leg and bringing it down hard on Sabonis’ chest, a move that resulted in a Flagrant 2 foul and automatic ejection.

That feels like something Draymond Green will be ejected and possibly even suspended moving forward… pic.twitter.com/HaAzrHXhkT

— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) April 18, 2023

After Green had some animated exchanges with the Golden 1 Center crowd, he made his way to the locker room as the Warriors would have to finish the final stretch without the former Defensive Player of the Year.

Sacramento finished a 114-106 win to take a 2-0 series lead over the defending champs, marking the first time Golden State has trailed 0-2 in a playoff series in the Stephen Curry-Klay Thompson-Green era.

While the Kings taking a commanding 2-0 series lead was a massive storyline, the Draymond Green and Domantas Sabonis debate has taken center stage as fans, media, current players, and former players have been sharing their opinions on who was in the wrong.

The ones closest to the action on Monday night shared their takes on what they saw as the event between Sabonis and Green took place.

“My leg got grabbed. The second time in two nights–and the referee is just watching,” Green said of the incident following Monday’s loss. “I got to land my foot somewhere, and I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far. I can only step so far with someone pulling my leg away.”

Sabonis had a different account of what happened, as the 26-year-old told the media that he brought his arm to his face to protect himself after receiving a hit to the jaw earlier in the game.

“When I fell, I was protecting myself, and then the incident happened,” Sabonis said. “There is no room for that in our game today.”

Sabonis received an X-Ray following the game that came back negative, and the center will get more precautionary testing done on Tuesday as he deals with chest soreness.

While Sabonis was in some discomfort following the game, he told the media that he plans on playing in Game 3 on Thursday in San Francisco.

Green’s teammates came to his aid during postgame media availability, with Klay Thompson stating it “wasn’t cool” for Sabonis to “grab” Green’s foot.

“What are you going to do when someone grabs your foot when you’re running full speed?” Thompson said. “That’s not cool. I’m not saying what Draymond did was right, but you can’t just grab somebody’s foot taking off in a full sprint.”

Kings center Alex Len had a blunt assessment of what transpired while adding that Sacramento has to block out Green’s antics.

“It was obvious. I think it was a dirty play,” Len said postgame. “I’ve never seen it before, somebody just stomping a guy on the ground. It is what it is. We just try to block out all the s*** talking that Draymond does and do what we do.”

The chaotic scene transpired with seven minutes to go in a game that the Kings held a slim 91-87 lead. While the Warriors have the ability to go on game-deciding runs, Sacramento put together a strong final stretch to pull out the win.

De’Aaron Fox spoke about the closing effort from his team and highlighted how Sacramento responded to the Green-Sabonis situation.

“That brought us together,” Fox said postgame. “We huddled up and were like, ‘We have to win this game,’ especially because everybody thought [Green] would be ejected. When that usually happens, that team comes together and goes on a run. We were able to negate that.”

De'Aaron Fox speaks on Domantas Sabonis' toughness after the Kings Game 2 W 💪#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/tct1j634cf

— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2023

It’s currently unknown what kind of punishments will be handed out for either player, but clarity should arrive before these two teams face off on Thursday in Game 3.

Sacramento has the defending champions on the ropes, and they have a chance to put the Warriors in a 3-0 hole with a win in San Francisco. That will be a lot easier said than done, however, as Golden State holds a 33-8 record at Chase Center.

Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule

NBA Western Conference Playoffs – First Round

• Thursday, April 20th – Game 3: Sacramento Kings @ Golden State Warriors – 7:00 PM PST
• Sunday, April 23rd – Game 4: Sacramento Kings @ Golden State Warriors – 12:30 PM PST
• Wednesday, April 26th – Game 5**: Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors – TBD
• Friday, April 28th – Game 6**: Sacramento Kings @ Golden State Warriors – TBD
• Sunday, April 30th – Game 7**: Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors – TBD

**If necessary

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