There is clearly some bad blood between Draymond Green and Karl-Anthony Towns. Last time their teams faced each other, Towns did not suit up due to personal reasons. And the Warriors star made some controversial comments on his absence without proof, “Some would say he didn’t play because Jimmy was in the building, I don’t know… Yeah, they said KAT ain’t played because Jimmy came into town and you know him and Jimmy had the infamous practice in Minnesota. That’s a thing. I don’t know.”

Turns out, that was not the case and KAT reportedly took time off to comfort his girlfriend Jordyn Woods after she lost her aunt to cancer, and attend her funeral. Many even criticized Draymond for his “irresponsible” journalism. And it looks like his public comments have spiced up his beef with Towns even more, as the two stars got into a heated verbal altercation during tonight’s Knicks vs Warriors clash.

The incident occurred in the opening minutes of second quarter. With both players tangled up during a play, Draymond managed to draw a foul on KAT, his third of the night. Adding insult to injury, the former DPOY immediately began taunting Towns by pointing toward the bench, realizing that he would be subbed out because of foul trouble. Obviously, the Knicks Center was not pleased with Green’s antics and charged toward him with some heated words. That sparked a verbal altercation between the two and their teammates and officials were forced to step in to separate them.

Even on-air announcer, Doris Burke realized that there was more to this than just on court issues, as she said, “They can say what they want Richard Jefferson, this feels personal.” Draymond and KAT had been going at each other since tip-off, and the Warriors forward baited him into committing multiple fouls that eventually led to Towns’ benching. Even RJ highlighted Green’s antics, “Draymond is a master at trying to get into people’s head. Agitating people… Do not engage with Draymond. That is my opinion from being his teammate and playing against him.” Later in the game, Gren was also seen chirping at the Knicks bench during a timeout. While their beef continues to escalate, KAT also responded to the veteran forward’s comments earlier this week.

Karl-Anthony Towns takes the High Road while Draymond Green justifies his Controversial take

Once KAT returned to his day job following the tragic personal loss, he addressed Green’s comments about him missing a game to avoid facing Butler. Surprisingly, he took the high road instead of escalating the situation, “I choose to approach that with love and not hate. That’s all I really care about. I hope no one has to go through what I went through and those kids — and what those kids had to go through. Losing a parent is tough.” Maybe, the loss of a loved one helped him gain perspective on what’s truly important.

Meanwhile, Draymond attempted to justify his take despite finding out the real reason behind KAT’s absence, “My comments that I made was what I heard, was this and that’s what I heard.” However, he did offer his condolences to Towns as he copes with the loss, “I’m sorry to hear that. That sucks… I do send my well wishes to him and his family. It’s inevitable. We all experience death in one way or another and we’ll all experience it in the same way one day. So, it’s unfortunate and you never wish that on anybody.” But tonight’s game proves that Draymond and Towns’ beef is far from over!