SAN FRANCISCO ā Players on the Warriors and Houston Rockets got into a shoving altercation midway through the second quarter of Golden State's 109-106 win Monday night in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series, leading to three technical fouls before tempers flared again just ahead of halftime.
With the game tied at 36, Golden State star Stephen Curry dribbled down the sideline when teammate Draymond Green put a hard screen on Houston's Amen Thompson. Dillon Brooks fouled Curry then appeared to become angry about the push and went at Curry and Green.
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āI got a technical tonight and there was guys way more aggressive than me, so thatās crazy,ā Green said. āThey were trying to muddy the game up, but it's fine.ā
Curry received a technical for ātauntingā Brooks, who also received a technical along with Green.
āAll he said was thatās two,ā Green said in reference to Brooks' two fouls at the time. āThereās been way more taunting than that in this series. But, hey, it is what it is, I like it.ā
Warriors rookie Quinten Post and Houston's Jabari Smith Jr. flailed their arms at each other but avoided technicals upon replay review by the officials.
Then with 2:44 left in the quarter, Green received a Flagrant 1 foul for pushing Tari Eason's face to the ground and Eason also received a technical. Green was dribbling when Eason went for a steal and the ball got loose and both players hit the floor trying to corral it. Green's left leg was on the Rockets forward's neck.
āItās just part of the game. Itās highly competitive out there,ā Rocket center Steven Adams said. āAs you know, the playoffs is a different level of competition from regular season, from any of that. Look, people are just playing hard. People play really hard, sometimes things happen. Itās not ill intention. I think youāre just trying to win.ā
The Warriors lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 and can clinch with a win in Wednesday's Game 5 on the Rockets' home floor.
Curry appreciated the Warriors' poise to push forward after the skirmish.
āThere were more reviews, every game has been physical and there have been moments,ā he said. āYou expect two teams to not like each other at this point. ... You donāt want the antics to distract from the game.ā
There was already bad blood between the teams. Jimmy Butler returned after missing Game 3 because of a pelvic contusion suffered in Game 2 on Wednesday on a hard foul by Thompson.
Butler tried to secure a rebound when Thompson undercut him and sent the Warriors starās feet high into the air so that he came down straight onto his tailbone. Both players thudded to the floor and Butler grimaced in pain, grabbing at his backside. He stayed in briefly to shoot two free throws before going to the locker room.
On Friday, Brooks defended Thompson and called Green a ādirtyā player.
āDillon said that? Interesting," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
And while with Memphis three years ago, Brooksā Flagrant 2 foul on Gary Payton II during Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals of the Warriorsā championship run in 2022 fractured Paytonās elbow. He returned for Game 2 of Golden Stateās six-game NBA Finals victory over Boston.
Payton made an open-court foul against Brooks during Game 3 and when asked about it afterward, he said with a smile, āI didnāt see it.ā
And when Butler was asked about his feelings for Brooks and if it resembled a playground rivalry out there, he didn't mince words.
āNo, weāre not having fun. Give me this, I donāt like Dillon Brooks,ā he said. āWeāre never having fun. Iām a fierce competitor. Heās a fierce competitor. There aināt nothing fun about that.ā
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA