Memphis Grizzlies: What Brandon Clarke said after Draymond Green flagrant-2 foul and ejection in Game 1

The Golden State Warriors outlasted the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals on May 1 by a score of 117-116.

The game was thrilling and stars like Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, Ja Morant, and Jaren Jackson Jr. were all spectacular.

But, an interaction between Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is what’s making headlines post-Game 1.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke reacts to Green flagrant foul

During the second quarter of the game, Memphis’ Clarke jumped up to the basket in an attempt to dunk the ball, but was met in the air by Golden State’s Green.

Green cocked his arm back while Clarke was in the air and swatted down with immense force, striking Clarke in the face and forcing him to lose his balance. Before Clarke was able to catch himself, Green grabbed Clarke by the collar of his jersey and yanked him down, further throwing his balance off and causing him to hit the floor.

During his post-game interview, Clarke confirmed he was not seriously injured and mentioned that he’s actually not all that surprised by Green’s hard foul.

“I can like, take a hit, man,” Clarke said after the game.

“[Green’s] been known for flagrant fouls in his career. I’ve watched them on tv my whole life it feels like, so I wasn’t really socked. I don’t really like to flop or nothing, but he did hit me pretty hard twice,” Clarke said.

“I’m not really worried about it or nothing. I mean it’s not shocking that he did that. It’s something that he’s done in the past,” he said of Green’s propensity for drawing flagrant fouls.

Clarke ended his comments on the matter by calling Green a really good defensive player, but stated, “there’s no need to do all that extra stuff.”

In the pool report conducted by Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, referee Kane Fitzgerald commented on the thought process behind issuing Green a flagrant-2 foul, which resulted in Green being ejected from Game 1.

“There’s a couple things,” the referee said walking the reporter through the thought process.

“The first part was the wind up and significant contact to the face, and then the pull down from the jersey grab and throw down to the floor to an airborne vulnerable player makes that unnecessary and excessive. That’s what led to the flagrant foul penalty two,” Fitzgerald said.