Draymond Green’s night against Phoenix ended the way so many of his nights have over the years: with an ejection.
The Warriors forward was tossed for the first time this season and the 31st time in his career on Monday, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN. The sequence started when Green was knocked down while defending Suns center Khaman Maluach.
Green got back up, fouled Maluach on a layup attempt and sent him to the floor, picking up a technical foul. Dillon Brooks then stepped in to back up his teammate, the two forwards grabbed at each other’s jerseys, and the result was double technicals and an automatic ejection for Green.
Brooks said after the game that he was trying to “deescalate” things, and added that Green was “tweaking all game.” Stephen Curry said the moment seemed to “lit a fire” under Golden State, which was trailing by 10 at the time. The Warriors responded with a 116-113 win, their fifth straight.
Charles Bassey also played a major role in that comeback, and his growing importance is becoming harder to miss. Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area noted that the center’s value is showing up more clearly with each outing.
Bassey had played just 26 minutes across his first four games this season, but over the last two he has put up 25 points and 18 rebounds in 43 minutes. That stretch has helped steady a center rotation that was viewed as a big question mark entering the season because of Kristaps Porzingis’ illness.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, Jalen Green has been grinding through a rough shooting stretch. The sixth-year guard has hit just 6 of 20 shots over his last two games, including 0 of 6 from three and 1 of 6 at the line, with both Suns losses coming in that span.
He was held to 13 points in those outings, but on Monday he still managed eight assists and eight rebounds. After the loss, Green talked about finding ways to “impact the game” when his shot isn’t dropping, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relayed.
Phoenix’s starting five of Green, Brooks, Maluach, Devin Booker and Miles Bridges has also struggled to find any traction. That group has logged 60 minutes together this season, which is 46 more than any other Suns lineup, and its net rating sits at -29.9. In every one of Phoenix’s first five games, that unit has been outscored while on the floor.
In Sacramento, Dylan Cardwell was again ruled out Monday in Dallas after briefly being upgraded to probable. James Ham of The Kings Beat reported that the big man is still moving in the right direction as he works back from a calf strain and felt good at Monday’s shootaround. The Kings are taking a cautious approach with what Ham described as a “dangerous” injury.
Even without Cardwell, Sacramento finally got its first win of the season, snapping a six-game skid with a victory over the Mavericks. Rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. led the way with 25 points, and after the game head coach Doug Christie called him a “special” player.
Malik Monk was just as emphatic. “Phenomenal player, man,” Monk said of the 19-year-old, per Christian Clark of The Athletic.
“Unlimited range. Unlimited confidence.
That’s what you need coming into the league. I told him don’t change.
He’s gonna be here for a while.”
In Other News...
Kings Finally Showed Something Fans Have Been Waiting To See
For a team that has spent much of the season searching for a cleaner identity, the 115-100 win over Dallas offered a much better snapshot of what Sacramento wants to be. Darius Acuff Jr. set the tone with 25 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, while the Kings got real help from the second unit, with Malik Monk, Emanuel Sharp and Leaky Black all making their presence felt in a game that looked more connected on both ends.
What stood out most was the way Sacramento defended and the way it spaced the floor, two areas that had been inconsistent before this one. It was the Kings best showing of the season so far, and the kind of performance that can matter beyond one night because it gives the coaching staff something tangible to build on, even if the bigger question is whether they can make it a habit. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Suddenly Face An Early Rebuild Dilemma On The Wing
The Kings finally got into the win column after an 0-6 start, and one of the more encouraging developments came from the bench. Leaky Black gave Sacramento a useful lift with 12 points, four steals and three rebounds, a reminder that even in a rough opening stretch there are still rotation spots to be won as the team sorts through its young wings.
Nique Clifford, meanwhile, has seen both his minutes and his production taper off, which puts his place in the picture under a brighter spotlight. For a Kings team already leaning into an early rebuild conversation, the wing spot is becoming a real evaluation point, and how they handle Clifford's role could say plenty about which young players they intend to keep developing. [Read more 🡒]
Darius Acuff Jr. Is Giving Kings Fans Real Hope Already
Darius Acuff Jr. has wasted little time giving Kings fans a reason to pay attention. Through seven games, the rookie has been producing at a level that is hard to ignore, averaging 26.1 points and 6.3 assists while showing real growth as both a scorer and a creator. He has also strung together three straight games with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, a run that puts him in rare company for a first-year player.
For Sacramento, the early returns are even more striking because Acuff is already matching a standard not seen from a rookie since 2019, and he has joined Oscar Robertson as the only Kings rookies to do it. The numbers alone suggest a player who is settling in quickly, but the bigger question is how far this kind of all-around production can go once the league has more time to adjust. [Read more 🡒]