Draymond Green returned from his five-game suspension Tuesday night and was gifted a technical foul in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ 124-123 loss to the Kings at Golden 1 Center.
After the game, Golden State guard Steph Curry vocalized his criticism of the technical foul.
“He’s passionate,” Curry told reporters after the game. “… He’s shown in the past that when he gets fiery, you kind of know where the limit is. The carry sign and all that, I was doing the same thing right behind him and they gave him the tech just because that’s kind of what you expect him to do in that kind of situation.
“I told him just refocus at that point and let’s just hoop. But that was a dumb tech, for sure. We all do that ‘did you see the carry?’ type thing. For him, be fiery, be competitive, be who you are. We all need to be mindful of not getting distracted and just try to play basketball.”
Steph wants Draymond to be his fiery, competitive self, but not to the point where he gets "distracted" from playing basketball 🔽 pic.twitter.com/B3VmBEXJE1
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 29, 2023
On the play in question, Curry and Green pleaded for officials to call a carrying violation on Kings guard Malik Monk. Instead, referees called Curry for a personal foul and handed Green his fourth technical foul of the season.
Green’s technical foul was one of many second-half mishaps as Golden State fumbled a 24-point lead to the rival Kings.
Green registered eight points, six rebounds and three assists in his return, but the Warriors dropped to 8–10 on the season and will watch the NBA in-season tournament quarterfinals from the sidelines as the Kings advanced out of West Group C.
