‘SELL THE CALL’

Draymond Green Ejected—Again—for Taking a Swing at Jusuf Nurkic

Green tried to defend himself, saying, “I also don’t think I’m an accurate enough puncher to do a full 360 and connect with someone.”

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was ejected from Tuesday’s 116-119 loss against the Phoenix Suns after swinging his arm at Jusuf Nurkic’s face. Video of the incident shows that Green had his back turned to Nurkic and was holding him off before he turned and struck Nurkic in the head with his hand. “[Nurkic] was pulling my hip, and I was swinging away to sell the call and made contact with him,” Green explained. “As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf. I didn’t intend to hit him.” The forward later added, “I also don’t think I’m an accurate enough puncher to do a full 360 and connect with someone.” CBS Sports reported that the ejection was his third of the season and his 19th over his career, the most among all active NBA players. Nurkic also weighed in at a post-match press conference, saying, “What's going on with him? I don't know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I'm glad he didn't try to choke me. At the same time, it ain’t nothing to do with basketball.” CBS Sports also said that Green is likely to be punished further given his history of suspensions. When questioned about it, Green said, “We’ll see. I know what my intentions were, and that’s really all I can speak on.”