The shorthanded Warriors pulled off a surprising overtime win over the Rockets on Thursday night to improve to 32-20 on the season. While it was a nice road victory for Golden State, one moment from the third quarter had fans wondering why one of their star players wasn’t ejected after he was caught pulling off a dirty move.
That player? None other than Draymond Green, who has never shied away from doing questionable things in the heat of the moment during his lengthy and very successful NBA career.
With 9:49 left in the third quarter, Green fell to the ground after Jabari Smith Jr. was called for an offensive foul. As Green got up off the floor he reached out and grabbed Smith’s right ankle as if he was trying to trip him.
Here’s how that played out:
Draymond Green was assessed a technical foul after he grabbed Jabari Smith Jr.'s ankle 👀
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 6, 2026
Good or bad call? 🤔pic.twitter.com/vUo1q0oyns
The announcers had a good chuckle over the play, while also asking why in the world Green would even think about doing that to Smith, the veteran was called for a technical foul. Kevin Durant then hit the free throw to make it a six-point game.
Green was lucky he wasn’t ejected from the game, as the refs could have bumped it up to a flagrant 2. Just last week Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort was ejected from a game against the Nuggets when he tripped Nikola Jokić.
Here’s that play:
Lu Dort was ejected after appearing to trip Nikola Jokic on this play.
— ESPN (@espn) February 28, 2026
Nikola Jokic and Jaylin Williams both received technical fouls. pic.twitter.com/ZFyNHpigsM
While Green didn’t bring Smith down to the ground with his dirty move, it still could could have led to a dangerous situation. Plus it was totally uncalled for and absolutely on purpose.
Draymond Green came up big for the Warriors in their win over the Rockets
Instead of being kicked out of the game, Green went on to play a season-high 35 minutes in the overtime win. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds and eight assists. The Warriors were without Stephen Curry for a 12th straight game and this victory was a big one, as they remain in the No. 8 spot in the West.
"We needed a win," Green said after the game. "We're trying to keep this thing afloat. Hopefully we can get (Steph) back at some point, get KP back, get Seth back. We’ve got to win some of these (games) that you’re not supposed to win."
"That was vintage Draymond,” Kerr said of Green’s performance. “The defense, the leadership, the force, the passing.”
Neither Green nor Kerr brought up that technical foul, which could have led to a game-changing decision by the refs.
Draymond Green’s history of being ejected from NBA games
Green has been ejected from 24 games during his NBA career, 22 of which have come during the regular season. His last ejection came in early January when he was tossed from the Warriors’ win over the Suns. That was his second ejection in eight days. It came after he got physical with Phoenix’s Collin Gillespie in a moment that didn’t really call for Green to get physical.
Here’s a look back at that ejection:
Green is very lucky he didn’t add to his ejection total Thursday night. Instead, he was able to stay in the game and play a pivotal role in team’s big victory.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
- Why Jayson Tatum’s Comeback Could Supercharge Boston’s Championship Chase
- The Hornets Are the Hottest Team in the NBA
- Jayson Tatum Returns 10 Months After Achilles Tear
- Mavericks GM Finally Explains Viral Luka Dončić Beer Video
- Suns Forward Dillon Brooks Arrested for DUI
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Draymond Green’s Latest Dirty Move Somehow Didn’t Lead to Him Being Ejected.
