The Sacramento Kings clinched another win at the Golden 1 Center to a take 2-0 lead against the Golden State Warriors in round 1. However, the game had a major controversy at a crucial juncture in the fourth quarter. After Domantas Sabonis went down, he grabbed the foot of Draymond Green who then stomped on Sabonis’ chest. Green received a flagrant-2 for his action and was ejected from the game. After the game, it was reported Sabonis will undergo X-rays to check for any serious injuries. Now, the X-ray report has come out and the Warriors fans are not happy.
Understandably, Green was furious with the call and had some words for Kings fans on his way out. The fans have been a huge part of the Kings’ win as they rallied behind the team.
Draymond Green was ejected for stomping?
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With the immense support of the fans, the Sacramento Kings won the game 126-123 despite being down during half-time. An inspired comeback in the third quarter and a gritty performance in the fourth helped the Kings take the crucial lead in the series. Despite Klay Thompson’s clutch plays in the final stretch of the game, the Warriors could not win it. Steve Kerr has never trailed 2-0 in a playoff series before. However, the Draymond Green-Domantas Sabonis incident grabbed the headlines.
Sabonis is down after Draymond stepped on him. pic.twitter.com/6MwsNLT2Pj
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 18, 2023
Green and Sabonis have been going at each other since the start of the series. Midway through the fourth quarter when the Kings were leading by 4 points, Sabonis went down while going for a rebound. He then wrapped his hands around Green’s foot which led to a stomp on his chest.
Following the stomp, the center was seen rolling on the floor in pain. After a lengthy review, the four-time NBA champion was given a flagrant-2 and ejected from the game. Even though Sabonis continued to play, there were concerns about a serious injury. However, it now looks like he has avoided injury.
Warriors fans are furious
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Domantas Sabonis’ X-ray results have returned negative and that he has avoided injury. He added Sabonis will undergo further tests on Tuesday as a precaution. However, the Warriors fans are not happy with the Kings and Sabonis and expressed their frustration on Twitter. Here are some reactions:
Very theatrical by Sacramento. Begging the NBA for a suspension lol.
— Adam WWWaybright (@WaybrightAdam) April 18, 2023
Lmfao thats because its all a ploy and a beg for a suspension
— Nationsgr8test (@nationsgr8test) April 18, 2023
https://t.co/M7TzkVSrh7
The theatrics from sabonis pic.twitter.com/K2wIjUqD1c— Apryl (@ThatsSo_APRYL) April 18, 2023
Many fans suggested that Sabonis was acting like he was in pain so that Green would get a suspension. Some fans claimed the Kings made Sabonis undergo an X-ray to make it look serious.
Of course they are negative, this is all performative. He stayed in the game until the end, didn't even go to the locker room to get checked out. The Kings would be under fire if they left him in and he was actually hurt.
— Jazmin (@Jaz_Barton) April 18, 2023
These test feel completely unnecessary and aimed toward having the league office suspend Draymond for at least one game. Sabonis played the rest of the game post incident without issue.
— BrownKnowsBest (@Mr_Brown_34) April 18, 2023
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The overreaction is crazy
They trying to suspend Draymond— ♡ (@_Teeay_) April 18, 2023
Also, a lot of fans noted how Sabonis played the rest of the game to say he was not actually hurt. However, it has to be noted that the stomp looked painful.
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Also, this is not the first time Draymond Green has been in a situation like this during the playoffs. After the ejection, Kings fans called out Green for his “dirty” antics on social media.