Draymond Green Kicks Kyrie Irving In 104-89 Game 1 Win Over Cavaliers

Draymond Green’s legs appear to be all over the place in this year’s NBA playoffs, kicking players left and right and slowly giving the Golden State Warriors power forward a reputation of being a dirty player.

Draymond Green Kicks Kyrie Irving In 104-89 Game 1 Win Over Cavaliers

Green kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the groin twice in the Western Conference Finals. He avoided suspension in that series, but he entered the NBA Finals just one flagrant foul away from an automatic one-game suspension.

In the Warriors’ 104-89 Game 1 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena on Thursday night, Green kicked Cavs guard Kyrie Irving in the chest in the first quarter. Irving appeared to push Green slightly while defending him, and as Green fell backwards, his right leg came up and kicked Irving in the upper chest. Cleveland coaches and players on the bench immediately stood up, angrily motioning at the officials to call a foul. Irving was called for a foul.

When asked about the kick in the post-game press conference, Green, 26, denied any ill-intent, calling it an accident despite what he perceived to be insinuation that the kick-and-flop was on purpose.

“The question that I’m asking you is are you aware of it?” the power forward was asked in the conference. “There seems to be extra scrutiny on it. Is there something you can do to make sure these things don’t come up where people would even have that question to ask you?

“No, if I was aware of something, I wouldn’t do it,” Green responded. “But basketball is basketball, and bodies react a certain type of way. I don’t really mind any scrutiny. It doesn’t bother me. I’m going to still live my life and do everything I do the same way and not lose any sleep. So life goes on.”

Green was not called for a foul, and played a team-high 40 minutes for Golden State on Thursday. He finished with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, as well as 11 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals.

Shortly after Green’s kick, another incident perceived as foul play by the Warriors occurred. Guard Leandro Barbosa knocked over a referee while shooting a 3-pointer.

After trailing by up to 14 points in the first half, the Cavaliers began their run midway through the third quarter thanks to the two players missing from last year’s finals: Irving, who scored 26 points, and Kevin Love, who added 17 points and 13 rebounds. The pair brought Cleveland to its first lead of the game since the opening minutes, 64-63 with 3:57 left in the third quarter.

Shortly afterwards, with about a minute remaining in the third, Cavs point guard Matthew Dellavedova swiped Andre Iguodala from behind in an attempt to knock the ball loose, and ended up making contact between Iguodala’s legs, near his groin. After a lengthy review, it was called a common foul.

The Warriors then bounced back, pushing their lead back to 10 points by the 11:10 mark of the fourth quarter, and eventually to 20, thanks to a series of jump shots from Iguodala, who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Shaun Livingston led Golden State with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 20 points on 8-for-27 shooting.

LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

Game 2 is set for Sunday at Oracle Arena.

PHOTO: OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 02: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors reacts in the first half while taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 2, 2016 in Oakland, California.