Draymond Green ejected in first minutes of Warriors-Magic

Green got his fourth ejection of the season after relentlessly arguing a foul call that wasn’t even on him.

In a huge game against the Orlando Magic, Draymond Green clocked out early.

Only 3:36 into the first quarter, Green got a technical foul for arguing with referee Ray Acosta, about a play where Steph Curry was called for a foul on the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero. Sensing danger, Steve Kerr called timeout and various Warriors players and even security personnel came out to get between Green and Acosta.

It didn’t work. Green kept yelling at the official and before the timeout was over, he’d received his second technical and his fourth ejection of the season. It’s the 22nd ejection of his career, second in history only to NBA technical foul legend — and former Draymond Green mentor — Rasheed Wallace.

Amazingly, it’s not even Green’s earliest ejection of the season. That came 1:43 into their game with the Minnesota Timberwolves, when Green dragged Rudy Gobert down the court by the neck. The score was 0-0.

That play led to a five-game suspension. Green was also ejected when he hit Jusuf Nurkic and earned an indefinite suspension that ultimately led to him missing 12 games, and got ejected from a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers for shoving Donovan Mitchell.

Green has now missed 26 games entirely, been ejected early in the first quarter in two others, and kicked out early in the third quarter in two others. That’s effectively 29 full games, which could turn out to be more if the NBA decides his newest incident deserves further discipline.

Watching Green get yet another ejection seemed to bring Steph Curry to tears.

The Warriors were already shorthanded, playing without Jonathan Kuminga. With the Warriors desperately trying to keep pace with the Houston Rockets, this ejection was ill-timed. No one would blame Steph for crying. Except Draymond, if Curry was on an opposing team.

But a funny thing happened after the ejection. The Orlando Magic forgot how to shoot. The Warriors went on a 19-2 run to give themselves a lead that they’d never relinquish, although they came very close in the fourth quarter. Trayce Jackson-Davis chipped in with 14 rebounds, Brandin Podziemski grabbed nine rebounds, and Gui Santos showed why Green can’t get ejected in a game like this, as the Warriors were outscored by 16 points in the rookie’s six minutes of play.

It was the Warriors’ first win in the four games where Green has been tossed. They truly cannot afford another ejection from their defensive leader. That doesn’t mean there won’t be another one in the final ten games.