Losing Draymond Green to fouls late in the fourth quarter hastened the Golden State Warriors‘ 102-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 at Chase Center on Saturday.
The Warriors blew a golden opportunity to guarantee a Game 6 — Stephen Curry‘s target return date from a Grade 1 left hamstring strain — with Green’s foul-infested Game 3 performance.
Green would not have fouled out if only Steve Kerr was successful in challenging Green’s controversial fourth foul — a blocking foul against Julius Randle — with 6:46 left in the third quarter and the Warriors holding a 53-50 lead.
Even ESPN analyst Tim Legler on the broadcast sided with Green and did not agree with the officiating crew led by Scott Foster on their decision not to overturn the blocking foul.
Blocking foul on Draymond Green
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“We felt pretty strongly [about that] block,” Kerr said of a play that he challenged but failed to overturn. “It looked like Randle went through his chest. We didn’t get the call. That’s part of the game.”
Kerr also took exception to Green’s sixth foul — against Jaden McDaniels‘ drive at the rim — but he was already out of a coach’s challenge.
“The sixth [foul] is tough,” Kerr said. “That didn’t feel great looking at the replay, but it is what it is.”
Kerr, however, did not blame their loss on the officiating, and instead pointed out to the Timberwolves outworking them on the offensive glass which led to their collapse.
Minnesota grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and outscored Golden State 26-14 in second-chance points.
Jimmy Butler Highlights Draymond Green’s Importance
Green took his fifth and sixth fouls in a quick succession inside the final 4:56 of the game as the Warriors went down with him.
Jimmy Butler put Green on notice, highlighting his importance to the team especially with Curry out of the lineup.
“Obviously, he’s one of the top defenders in the world,” Butler said of Green after the loss. “For sure, [he’s] the best defender on this squad. When he’s out, it is just different. You don’t got nobody back there that’s quarterbacking the way that he does it, that can switch everything and that gets every loose ball and that can rebound.”
Green, a finalist for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, did not have a statistically good game. He finished with only two points on 1-of-4 shooting, but he added four assists, two rebounds and two steals. He also turned the ball over a game-high five times as was minus-5 during 29-minute stint.
But Green’s impact was beyond the box score as he helped keep the Warriors together on the floor especially with his defense and communication.
The Warriors led by as many as seven points and had a 75-69 lead early in the fourth quarter. But they could not hold on to it with Green in and out of the game during the crucial stretch.
Draymond Green in Disbelief After Fouling Out
The Warriors were only trailing by two when Green fouled out with 4:38 left. Minnesota quickly took advantage with a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 90-84.
Green was up in arms when he earned his last two fouls in a span of 18 seconds.
Without the Warriors’ defensive anchor, the quartet of Rudy Gobert, Randle, McDaniels and Anthony Edwards finished off the game, outscoring the home team 18-15 the rest of the way, to take a 2-1 series lead.
