Draymond Green the Instigator was in full effect Thursday night.
The Golden State Warriors forward was all over the place against the Los Angeles Clippers, delivering one of his patented kicks to Blake Griffin in the first quarter and yelling at head coach Steve Kerr in the third.
But Green managed to spark a third controversy less than a minute into the game. As Griffin shot free throws, TNT’s microphones picked up Green barking in the direction of Clippers veteran Paul Pierce.
His message was … not very nice.
Green apparently was calling out Pierce’s decision to announce his retirement before the season, something Kobe Bryant did before the 2015-16 campaign before a well-publicized farewell tour.
Pierce hasn’t made as big a deal of his final season, aside from the outpouring of love he got from Boston in his final game at TD Garden. But The Truth never has been one to take shots lying down. After the game, he fired back at Green on Twitter.
In case you forgot, the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in last season’s NBA Finals. Thanks for the reminder, Paul.
This isn’t the first tiff between these two players, though. They traded barbs through the media earlier this season after Pierce criticized Green’s new teammate, Kevin Durant, for his decision to leave Oklahoma City.
Golden State did have the final say on the court with a 123-113 win, but we’ll give the victory in this athlete feud to Pierce. Besides, it’s not Green will be getting any Bryant-esque farewell tours when he calls it quits.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
