The Golden State Warriors are trying to keep hold of the 10-seed in the West and give themselves a chance at playing their way into the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament, but are getting quite the challenge from the red-hot Rockets, who won their 10th straight game on Wednesday night.
Houston’s hot streak means the Warriors have to be on their game in this final stretch of the season, as they cannot afford to drop winnable games without risking falling out of the Play-In. On Wednesday night in Orlando, they picked up a gritty 101-93 win, but had to do so without Draymond Green for more than 44 minutes of the game after he got ejected for two technicals as he would simply not stop yelling at the officials after a foul call early in the first quarter.
Stephen Curry tried his best to usher Green away from the officials, but Green kept barking and eventually earned his second T and a trip to the showers. Afterwards, Curry was visibly emotional on the court, on the verge of tears due to his frustration with Green’s ejection. Curry would go on to lead the Warriors to the win and was very fired up about it when he hit the dagger three late in the fourth, doing his “night night” celebration all the way down the sideline.
After the game, though, his frustration with Green getting himself tossed was still evident, as he talked with reporters about how they can’t have “self-inflicted wounds” and that Green’s too important to not be doing everything he can to stay on the floor.
Steph Curry on the Draymond Green ejection: “All I’ll say is we need him. He knows that. We all know that. So whatever it takes for him to be on the floor and available, that’s what’s gotta happen.” pic.twitter.com/kgUhktxLOO
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 28, 2024
Green has missed a substantial chunk of the season due to suspensions for his on-court antics this year, starting with choking out Rudy Gobert and then later hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face. His second suspension included some mandated therapy to try and figure out how to control his emotions better on the court and have better impulse control. Wednesday was the first time he got ejected since his suspension, and it was clear that Curry’s had about enough when it comes to Green’s antics, particularly with the Warriors in such a precarious situation.
Steph isn’t willing to accept lost years at this point of his career, so making the Play-In is the least the Warriors can do to provide a chance at the playoffs. Green getting tossed 4 minutes into a back-to-back against a good Orlando team isn’t the best way to do that, but Curry did make sure to shout out everyone that stepped up in Green’s absence and showed the fight and resiliency needed to gut out a win in a tough situation (that was created by Green’s own doing).