Draymond Green cannot help himself.
The Warriors are fighting to stay in the Play-In picture with 11 games remaining in the NBA season. They entered Wednesday’s game against the Magic with a one-game lead over the Rockets for 10th place in the Western Conference.
Golden State will have to continue that fight against Orlando without Green.
Less than four minutes into the game, the All-Star forward received a pair of technical fouls for arguing a foul call. He was ejected from the game with 8:24 to play in the first quarter.
Why was Green ejected? The Sporting News breaks down the sequence below.
Draymond Green ejected vs. Magic
Green played just three minutes in the Warriors’ game Wednesday night against the Magic before he was ejected.
In the first quarter, Orlando star forward Paolo Banchero attacked the rim against Andrew Wiggins, finishing through contact as he drew a foul for an and-one.
Even though Green wasn’t defending on the play, he didn’t care for the call. The Warriors forward got in NBA official Ray Acosta’s face, arguing the foul. He picked up one quick technical foul as his teammates, Stephen Curry and Chris Paul, tried to remove him from the situation.
Green wouldn’t let it go, though. He continued to bark at the referee as he headed toward the bench, so Acosta gave Green a second technical foul, ejecting him from the game.
Draymond picked up two technicals and was ejected after having words with the ref pic.twitter.com/tn2muDIXGo
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2024
Curry was visibly upset with Green’s lack of composure after the ejection, particularly because of what’s at stake for the Warriors this late in the season.
This post will be updated as more information becomes available.