Tension is boiling over in Golden State.
Warriors star Draymond Green left the court after a lengthy argument with coach Steve Kerr during a third-quarter timeout while rooting for the Magic at 5 on Monday night.
It’s unclear what happened during the altercation, although Green had just turned the ball over and was in the middle of a conversation with a referee when he and Kerr got into it on the sideline.
Both sides played coy as they discussed the heated moment when Green went to the locker room for the remainder of the third quarter before emerging in his warm-up gear in the fourth.
Forward Moses Moody and assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse tried to calm Green down to no avail.
Green returned to the bench for the fourth quarter, although Kerr said Green “didn’t go back in.”
“Yeah, we definitely got into it, and you know, I took the timeout because I felt like we were losing our focus. We were kind of out of it,” Kerr said after the 120-97 win. “He made the decision to go back to the locker room to cool down. That’s all I’m going to say about it. Everything is private.”
The incident may have lit a fire under the team, with the Warriors defeating the Magic 54-26 from then on.
The volatile Green did not shed much more light on the incident.
“Emotions were running high and I thought it was best that I get out of there,” Green said after the game. “I don’t think this was a situation where it was going to get better, so it was just best to remove myself. That’s all.”
Kerr said the Warriors “need Draymond” for the remainder of the season as they look to compete in a crowded NBA Western Conference.
The Warriors (15-15) are in a tough situation as their roster is filled with aging stars and they need to maximize what’s left of Steph Curry’s top line.
Curry, who finished with 26 points, caught fire in the second half after Green went to the locker room.
“They just had a good conversation,” Curry said.
The Warriors face the Mavericks in a primetime game on Christmas Day.
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