Draymond Green, notorious for hitting opposing players in the “groin area,” added a new target to his repertoire by kicking James Harden in the head in the second overtime of the Rockets’ 132-127 win over the Warriors on Thursday night. While it’s impossible to tell if the kick was intentional, it earned Green a Flagrant 1 for “unnatural leg extension“:
Draymond Green with a foot to Harden's head coming down. https://t.co/SGqKIj3vkf
— RealGM (@RealGM) December 2, 2016
After the game, Green commented on the incident:
Draymond Green prodded a bit more on the late flagrant call: "They going to do what they going to do. Ain't got nothing to do with me." pic.twitter.com/WdzUkAZdU4
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 2, 2016
As mentioned, Green has a history of this sort of thing. In last season’s Western Conference Finals, Green kicked Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams in the groin. And in the NBA Finals, he did something similiar to LeBron James, although that one was with his arm not his feet. It earned him an extremely costly suspension for Game 5, which the Warriors went on to lose.
For his part, the shot didn’t seem to bother Harden, who nailed both critical free throws to help seal Houston’s victory, and he notched another triple-double as he continues to bolster his MVP candidacy.
