Warriors' Green faces $5,000 fine after 17th technical foul
SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green picked up his 17th technical foul, which will result in a $5,000 fine.
If Green picks up an 18th technical he will be suspended for one game.
Thursday night's technical foul came with 3:45 remaining in the second quarter of the Warriors' game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
After Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram received the ball just inside the perimeter, Green appeared to have lowered his shoulder and shoved Ingram. As Ingram made his way from the baseline back onto the court, he approached Green, and the two exchanged words, resulting in some light shoving.
They were called for a double technical, and Green was also assessed with a flagrant foul 1 for the shove.
About 20 seconds later, Green almost picked up another technical after an incident with Herbert Jones.
As Green went for a layup he collided with Jones, and after Jones hit the floor, Green landed on top of him. The two got tangled up, with Green's legs wrapped around Jones' torso as Jones tried to get up.
More shoving from multiple players ensued before referees and team security broke up the scrum. After a long video review, no technical fouls were assessed.
"I thought for the most part we kept our poise. Missed some open shots. But this is what they do and you have to know that coming in that this is a team that thrives off altercations," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "Especially Draymond. That's what he did tonight. I thought it was a physical game. It was a good test for us. LIke I said, I love our competitive spirit."
His players concurred.
"I just play basketball. I don't really get into the extra stuff. I just try to focus on the task at hand," Pelicans forward Herbert Jones said. "I think a lot of guys kind of let that kind of talk distract them from the main goal and that's trying to win the basketball game. I don't really pay attention to all the talking that's going on. I just try to do whatever my teammates need me to do."
Later, Pelicans guard CJ McCollum picked up a flagrant foul 1 with 6:43 left in the third quarter when he ran through Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo with his arms up, shoving DiVincenzo down with both arms.
It was initially ruled a common foul on the floor but was upgraded after an official review.
Under the league's flagrant foul penalty points system, McCollum could be facing a suspension if he gets a flagrant foul 2 or two more flagrant foul 1s. A flagrant foul 1 is worth one point and a flagrant foul 2 is worth two points. If a player exceeds five points, he earns a one-game suspension following the game in which he exceeds five.
McCollum has four flagrant 1s this season, giving him four points.
Amid the scrums, Stephen Curry had 39 points with eight 3-pointers, eight rebounds and eight assists, Jordan Poole scored 21 with consecutive layups that gave Golden State the lead early in the fourth, and the Warriors rallied for a 120-109 victory.
ESPN's Andrew Lopez contributed to this report.
Related Stories
ABC News Live