Less than four minutes into Wednesday’s Magic game in Orlando, Warriors forward/center Draymond Green was sent off following a disagreement with official Ray Acosta, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic on Twitter.
The event is captured on camera by NBC Sports Bay Area. Green was disputing a foul call against Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, who made the and-one layup with 8:24 left in the first quarter, even though he wasn’t even directly engaged in the play.
Green clearly knew he had crossed a limit because he did not appear astonished at all at that time.
The Warriors, who are now one game ahead of the scorching Rockets for the final position in the Western Conference play-in round, are facing a difficult situation with the ejection. There are 11 games left in each team’s regular season schedule.
On Wednesday, the second of a back-to-back, the Warriors were already missing third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga as they faced the Magic, who have gone 18-6 in their previous 24 games.
Slater reported that head coach Steve Kerr stated Kuminga has knee tendinitis, characterizing it as a mild problem. Kerr anticipates Kuminga playing on Friday in Charlotte.
The fact that this is Green’s first ejection since his extended suspension in December for striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face makes it a very significant event. He ultimately received a 12-game suspension, missing four more while he recovered. Earlier in the season, he was also given a five-game suspension for headlocking Rudy Gobert.
According to Spotrac, Green has now accumulated 10 technical fouls in 2023–2024; six of those (including the two on Wednesday) came after his last ban. A total of $6K will be punished to him, $3K for each technical.
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