Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green sent Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks to sleep with a dagger in the final 25 seconds to seal their 97-94 victory at home on Saturday, March 15.
Green gave props to Towns after the Warriors’ seventh straight win despite their heated in-game moments.
“That was fun, really fun,” Green told reporters after the win. “Good to see KAT show up and play like that. He played hard, played well.
Towns led the Knicks with 29 points and 12 rebounds as he almost single-handedly won the game for his team. The All-Star big man uncorked a personal 11-3 run in the fourth quarter to rally the Knicks.
“He was physical, probably the most physical I’ve ever seen him,” Green continued. “He had a little extra motivation, so that made the game really fun. That was great.”
A Mikal Bridges midrange jumper tied the game at 88 with 2:52 left. But the Warriors responded with a 6-0 blast capped by Green’s lefty layup against Towns, then he wildly ran the court with Stephen Curry‘s “night, night” celebration to rub more salt to the Knicks’ pain.
“He kind of fed into what everybody else was saying,” Green said of Towns. “So it was a little extra motivation. But I like battles, so if it forces a guy to play harder and more physical, that’s great. I ain’t never seen him willing to talk. That was great, really fun. He had a really good game.”
Draymond Green’s Irresponsible Comment
The Green-Towns matchup spiced up the game that was played with a playoff atmosphere — physical and a lot of jawing — after the Green’s unsubstantiated comments on why Towns missed the Knicks-Warriors game in New York on March 4.
“Some would say [Towns] didn’t play because Jimmy was in the building,” Green said on his podcast. “I saw KAT’s pops at the game. I got incredible love for the OG, his pops is an incredible man. But yeah, they say KAT didn’t play because Jimmy [Butler] came into town … I don’t know what was hurt. I didn’t look that deep into it to figure out what his injury was or nothing like that.”
But it turned out Towns missed the game to attend to the funeral of a dear friend.
“This is one of those moments where I had to be there for my family and be there for the kids that lost somebody really special to them,” Towns said, per AP, when he returned to the Knicks lineup the following game.
No Apology
When told about the real reason, Green did not apologize and only sent sympathies to Towns.
“That’s unfortunate, I’m sorry to hear that,” Green told reporters after the Warriors’ 121-119 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, March 6. “That sucks, but my comments that I made were, you know, ‘People, what I heard was this.’ That’s what I heard. So I do send my well wishes to him and his family.
“It’s inevitable, we all experience death in one way or another, and we’ll all experience it in the same way one day. So it’s unfortunate, you never wish that on anybody, but ‘The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis’ must go on.”
The tension between the two big men spilled on the court Sunday as Green and Towns got entangled in the early moments of the second quarter. Towns was hit with his third foul and Green quickly waved him off to the Knicks bench while shouting, “Get him off.”
The referees had to separate the two big men.
Green finished with only nine points but made the most important basket of the game.
The Knicks star fouled out with 6.1 seconds left and did not shake hands with Green after the game.
Towns started the game hot, blowing past Green on the way to a dunk over Butler. But Green had the last laugh with the game-sealing basket over him in the end.
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