Why apologetic Draymond felt like ‘coward' after Warriors' Game 3 loss
Why apologetic Draymond felt like 'coward' after Warriors' Game 3 loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
After the Warriors dropped Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, Draymond Green still had his mind on his actions from Saturday.
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Golden State's veteran forward fouled out of his team's Game 3 loss and apologized to reporters Monday for failing to speak to them in the aftermath.
'Before I start, I want to apologize to y'all,' Green told the media before starting his press conference after the Warriors' 117-110 loss in Game 4 at Chase Center. 'I didn't talk the other day. I was quite a bit frustrated and very careful of — didn't want to get myself fined, but more so say something and make it sound like an excuse.
'We struggle and lose, and I didn't come up here and talk, and I felt like a coward when I got home. So I wanted to apologize to y'all for that.'
With four minutes and 38 seconds left in the Warriors' eventual 102-97 loss on Saturday, Green collected his sixth and final personal foul with Golden State trailing by two points.
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The 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year finalist had tallied just two points, two rebounds and four assists up to that point, and his foul trouble kept him from making much of an impact as the Timberwolves attacked the rim.
While some of the calls on Green were questionable according to his Warriors teammates and coach Steve Kerr, it's evident the 35-year-old didn't want to blame the referees for his struggles in Game 3.
Green's less-than-stellar night on Saturday came one game after he faced racially charged comments from Timberwolves fans in Minnesota — an incident that caused the team to open up an investigation when one fan was ejected from Target Center for violating the NBA Fan Code of Conduct, per the Timberwolves, and another left the arena on his own accord.
After that game, during which Green received a technical foul for hitting Wolves big man Naz Reid in the face, the Warriors star gave a passionate statement declaring he's 'not an angry Black man' and that there is an 'agenda' trying to paint him as such.
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When asked about his post-Game 2 comments after Monday's loss, where Green improved to score 14 points with seven rebounds and two assists, he made it clear he has turned the page.
'I've moved on,' Green told reporters.
Green never has been one to shy away from accountability after all the ups and downs he has experienced throughout his career. His apology Monday was just another example of that, even if it came a couple of days later.
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