Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will not be suspended for kicking Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the groin in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday night, two people close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports on Monday.
The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been made public.
The incident occurred in the second quarter when Green — who had just six points on 1-of-9 shooting in the blowout loss — flailed his arms and legs in the air as he drove to the basket in an attempt to draw a foul. His right leg made below-the-belt contact with Adams, who immediately fell to the floor and was subsequently tended to by the medical staff.
Green was given a flagrant one foul at the time of the incident. After further review, the league decided that no suspension was necessary, but the foul was upgraded to a flagrant two. Green will also be fined $25,000.
Based on the league’s point system, Green is one point away from an automatic suspension. A flagrant one foul is worth one point and a flagrant two is two points. He will have these points for as long as the Warriors are in the playoffs.
Just hours before the ruling was made, Green said that he feared a suspension was on the horizon.
“The way everybody is blowing it up makes me think I’m going to get suspended, when I don’t think it should even be considered because I know I wasn’t trying to kick him,” Green told USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t pay it any attention (the criticism and media noise), honestly. It just is what it is for me. I wouldn’t be worried about anything if I wasn’t facing a suspension. Everything else is pretty irrelevant to me.”
As for Adams — he wasn't so sure Green's kick was incidental.
“It happened before, mate,” Adams said likely referring to Green's not-as-blatant knee to the groin in Game 2. “He’s pretty accurate, that guy.”
Game 4 will be on Tuesday in Oklahoma City, and with their best defender and most versatile player having dodged the suspension bullet, the Warriors will look to even the series at two games apiece.
Contributing: A.J. Neuharth-Keusch
