Draymond Green Ejection Is Third of the Season

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PHOENIX -- Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected from Tuesday night's 119-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns after receiving a flagrant foul 2 for hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the head.

The ejection is his third of the season, and he now will have to await a league review for the possibility of another suspension.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Green was ejected with 8:23 left in the third quarter after he swung and hit Nurkic in the head while defending him. At first, while Green's back was turned to Nurkic, he repeatedly held Nurkic off him. Eventually, Green turned and hit Nurkic in the head with his hand. Officials deemed the foul a flagrant 2 after a video review.

"I am not one to apologize for things I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn't intend to hit him,"

Green said after the game. "I sell calls with my arms ... so I was selling the call ... and I swung and unfortunately I hit him."

Green's three ejections are tied for his most in a season. His first came after he picked up two technical fouls against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 11. His second came against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 14 when he put Rudy Gobert in a headlock. The NBA suspended Green for five games after the latter incident, with the league citing Green's history as a repeat offender for the length of the suspension.

Nurkic said Green's actions "had nothing to do with basketball," and Suns coach Frank Vogel called it "a reckless, dangerous play."

"I'm sensitive to our guys getting hit on plays like that," Vogel said. "I didn't like it. The refs did what they had to do. The league will do what they have to do."

In addition to losing Green to the ejection, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were later benched, leaving Stephen Curry to try to win the game with the team's young players.