SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As the referees went to the replay monitor to determine whether Draymond Green should be ejected for his hard stomp, the Sacramento Kings took that time to regroup and make sure they didn’t lose focus down the stretch.
De’Aaron Fox and crew took over from there and delivered the Kings a 2-0 series lead that has the defending NBA champions reeling.
Fox scored 24 points and made a backbreaking 3-pointer that led the playoff newcomer Kings to a 114-106 win Monday night for their second straight victory over the Golden State Warriors.
“I think that brought us together,” Fox said. “We huddled up and were like, ‘We have to win this game.’ Everybody thought he’d be ejected. When that happens, usually that team comes together and goes on a run. But we were able to negate that.”
The Kings closed the game strong after Green was ejected for a flagrant foul against Domantas Sabonis. They became the first team to take a 2-0 series lead over the Warriors in the Stephen Curry era.
The Warriors will try to get back into the series when it shifts less than 90 miles southwest to San Francisco for Game 3 on Thursday night.
“Got to embrace it,” Curry said. “You do this for as long as we have ? we have to stay together and locked in.”
The game got heated in the fourth quarter when Green stomped on Sabonis’ chest with 7:03 to play, leading to an ejection for a flagrant foul
During the review, fans in Sacramento yelled derogatory chants toward Green, who egged them on by waving his hands, holding a hand to his ear calling for louder cheers and standing on a chair.
“My leg got grabbed,” Green said. “Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I’ve got to land my foot somewhere. I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far. ? I can only step so far.”
Sabonis finished the game but coach Mike Brown said he was undergoing X-rays afterward to make sure there wasn’t damage to his ribs or lungs.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported initial X-Rays were negative.
Now it will be up to the NBA to determine whether an ejection is all that was warranted or if Green will face a possible suspension.
“It was a flagrant-2 for sure,” Brown said. “It’ll be interesting to see with what the NBA does after they review it.”