Draymond Green wasted no time getting back into familiar territory with the officials.
During Golden State’s preseason meeting with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Warriors forward picked up a technical foul after getting into it with referees. The exact words Green used weren’t clear, but the video from the play made the reason obvious enough: he was chirping at the officials.
The sequence started with a ruling against Stephen Curry. Officials initially whistled Curry for an offensive foul, but Golden State challenged the call and won.
After the review, the decision was overturned, and that flip set Green off. He immediately turned his attention to the refs, argued the point, and drew the technical.
The episode came in a game Golden State wanted to finish on a good note. The Warriors had taken a 123-118 loss to Portland in an earlier preseason matchup, but this time they closed things out with a 128-118 win on Friday. That result gave Golden State a 4-2 preseason record.
Green’s night wasn’t about scoring. He finished with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 12 minutes. Curry handled the offense, leading the Warriors with 20 points in 26 minutes while hitting seven of his 19 shots.
Now the focus shifts to the regular season, where Golden State opens against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. That matchup will carry a different weight than the preseason tune-up, with Curry, Green and the rest of the Warriors looking to bring their strong shooting into the games that count.
Portland, meanwhile, finished its preseason run against Golden State with the 10-point defeat.
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