Wednesday evening, the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors squared off for their third and final matchup of the 2023-24 campaign, and, unsurprisingly, things got rather testy between the two rivals.
Once again playing the role of antagonist was the anointed villain among Grind City faithful, Draymond Green, who was seen getting physical with big man Santi Aldama early on and often in the contest. The two got tangled up under the basket mid-way through the second quarter, a situation where coach Taylor Jenkins personally went to the referee to voice his displeasures.
Seemingly attesting to the headman's conversation, Green beelined it over to Jenkins, though was pushed aside by Grizzlies star Desmond Bane, resulting in the two of them jawing at one another and, ultimately, receiving technicals.
Draymond Green and Desmond Bane both received technicals after this scuffle. pic.twitter.com/SrGg1TkGyO
— ESPN (@espn) March 21, 2024
Following the game, the Warriors big addressed the on-court altercation with Bane, making a point to downplay the "sequence" and note that, in the end, it actually wound up inspiring Golden State moving forward.
Warriors big Draymond Green talks 'sequence' with Memphis Grizzlies
"It kind of woke our team up. We got going from there [and] never looked back. Shout out to them, maybe they were trying to get me thrown out the game or something. It didn't work. It actually worked against them."Draymond Green
Green would continue on to say that teams need "to be careful" when trying to bate an opposing team into altercations, for he noted the Grizzlies "were playing pretty well" at the moment of the exchange that, in his eyes, aided in Golden State's second-half surge.
Things were pretty evenly matched up to the mid-way mark in the second quarter, with the lead going back and forth and the Warriors laying claim to a mere 49-47 edge.
From there, however, the Dubs would go on a 19-11 run to close out the first half and, during the final two periods, would outscore Memphis 69-58. In the end, Golden State would down the Grizzlies 137-116 and simulteneously won their season series 2-1.