Draymond Green’s desire to win resulted in him crossing the line between competitive and dirty yet again.
Green hit James Harden on the Houston Rockets star’s injured wrist during the third quarter of Golden State’s 107-98 win over Houston on Friday night. Here’s a look at the play:
This dirty play by Draymond is just sad to see, Harden's wrist is hurt and he just takes a cheap shot. pic.twitter.com/9KPZ6voOjm
— HARDEN MVP (@SpaceCity4Life) April 1, 2017
Green was called for an offensive foul for the move. He said after the game that he did it in response to Harden grabbing him:
Draymond Green describes his scuffle with James Harden: "He pinched me. So I punched his wrist. That’s pretty much it."
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) April 1, 2017
Harden entered the game with a wrist injury that was re-aggravated during last Sunday’s win over the Thunder. The Rockets MVP candidate believes he will be OK despite the injury.
Draymond Green hit Harden's forearm when Harden was grabbing him. Not uncommon, but Harden said he thought Green used a closed fist.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) April 1, 2017
Harden went 4 of 18 — 2 of 9 inside and outside the arc — but said it was just an off game. Of his wrist, said "I'll be all right."
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) April 1, 2017
Harden shot just 4-for-18 against the Warriors in the loss. He is shooting 29.4 percent (20/68) from the field in three games since the win over the Thunder, and Houston has lost all three contests. Harden initially jammed his wrist in Denver on March 17.
Green has been scrutinized since his infamous groin-kick problems, leading him to issue these complaints recently. With plays like what happened with Harden, he’s not helping his case.
