Some claim that it’s a rivalry. Others say it’s simply too soon for that. Whatever you want to call it, the dislike between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers is officially real.
The two teams have been building some unfriendly history since last season, and it carried over into this season when they refused to share a chapel service – a customary tradition around the NBA – before their first game against each other back in October. Things really boiled over on Christmas day when the two teams met and got tangled up a number of times.
It started at the end of the third quarter when Draymond Green gave a shot to Blake Griffin, prompting an ejection and a $15,000 fine by the league. Because Griffin confronted Green, he received a technical on the play. Then in the fourth quarter, this happened:
Griffin received his second technical and was ejected from the game. The league ruled on Thursday that he never should have been charged with a technical. After the contest, Griffin called out the Warriors for what he felt was a cowardly tactic, from Arash Markazi of ESPN LA:
“If you look at it, I didn’t do anything, and I got thrown out of the game,” Griffin said. “It all boils down to they (the referees) fell for it. To me, that’s cowardly. That’s cowardly basketball.”
“Instead of just playing straight up and playing a game, it got into something more than that, and it’s unfortunate because you want to play a team head-to-head,” Griffin said. “You don’t want to start playing other games and playing cowardly basketball.
Bogut gave his own take on what went down, from Jimmy Durkin of Mercury News:
“We’re just trying to win the game,” said Warriors center Andrew Bogut, one of the central figures of a Warriors’ 105-103 victory that featured several scrums. “We did whatever it took to win the game. We made the big plays toward the end. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions and comments, and we’re not really affected by that. We’d rather be called cowards and come out with the win.”
“You can’t let your point guard get picked on by a center,” Barnes said. “Everyone tried to split them up. Bogut was talking trash all game. He can talk it on the court, but he knows better than to talk it off the court.”
Bogut denied those trash-talking claims.
“I don’t talk trash,” he said. “To the contrary of certain comments, I didn’t say a word last night to anybody. If there’s physicality needed, I’m happy to bring it, but I never look for the altercations but unfortunately last night there were a couple little scrums.
And just when everything appeared to be over, this happened:
The league didn’t hand out any punishments for the final scuffle, but it’s clear that they will likely have a close eye on the next meeting between the teams, which is on Jan. 30 on TNT. They have split the first two games of the season, so the third one should be filled with plenty of intensity.
KYRIE IRVING MAKES JEFF TEAGUE FALL:
Teague had the last laugh against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday with a game-winning shot at the buzzer, but not before getting badly crossed by Irving:
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE:
What Is cheap Raptors jerseys china
wholesale soccer free shipping