The Warriors and Suns squared off in a thriller Saturday night, with Golden State defeating Phoenix 113-112 on the strength of a Steph Curry 3-pointer with less than a second to go.
But the real show was the battle between Draymond Green and Jusuf Nurkic, sharing a court for the first time since Green clocked Nurkic in the head, which earned Green an indefinite suspension. There was plenty of physical play between the two, as well as an exchange of ‘too small’ gestures.
The battle continued after the game as the pair engaged in a war of words through the media.
‘It’s sad. (Green) didn’t learn anything, man’ Nurkic said. ‘Just a matter of time, he’s going to knock somebody else again. Take everything back what I said. He don’t deserve a chance.’
Nurkic took issue with Green’s ‘antics’ and said Green tries to hit people.
Told about Nurkic’s comments, Green didn’t hold back.
‘I thought I was pretty great tonight, honestly,’ Green said after a long pause. ‘He tried to get in my head and it didn’t work.
‘If he want me to walk around quiet like him, I’m never going to do that. Quiet guys don’t win.’
Green, who finished with 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, reiterated that he thought he had a great game.
‘(Nurkic) can keep riding the same horse that he rode in on, he can ride his ass on out of here on the same horse. It ain’t working,’ Green added.
Curry had some words for Nurkic as well, calling the Suns big man’s comments ‘idiotic’ in his postgame press conference.
‘Draymond was in his head, plain and simple,’ Curry said.
Sadly, the Suns (31-22) and Warriors (25-25) aren’t slated to meet again in the regular season. But we can always hold out hope for a playoff matchup.
