The Warriors and Suns played a thrilling duel on Saturday night, with Golden State defeating Phoenix 113-112 thanks to a 3-pointer from Steph Curry with less than a second left.
But the real show was the battle between Draymond Green and Jusuf Nurkic, who were sharing the same court for the first time since Green’s head hit that landed him an indefinite suspension. There was a lot of physicality between the two, as well as an exchange of “too small” gestures.
The dispute continued after the game when the two engaged in a war of words in the media.
“It’s sad. (Green) hasn’t learned anything, man” Nurkic said“It’s only a matter of time before he beats someone else up again. I take back everything I said. He doesn’t deserve a chance.”
Nurkic criticized Green’s “antics” and said Green was trying to hit people.
When Green learned of Nurkic’s comments, he didn’t hold back.
“To be honest, I thought I was pretty good tonight,” Green said after a long pause. “He tried to get into my head and it didn’t work.
“If he wants me to walk around as quietly as he does, I’ll never do that. Quiet guys don’t win.”
Green, who finished with 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, reiterated that he thought he had a great game.
“(Nurkic) can ride the same horse he came here on, he can ride the same horse out of here. That doesn’t work,” Green added.
Curry also had some words for Nurkic, calling the Suns big man’s comments “idiotic” in his post-game press conference.
“Draymond was simply in his head,” Curry said.
Unfortunately, the Suns (31-22) and Warriors (25-25) are not scheduled to meet again in the regular season. But we can still hope for a playoff duel.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Draymond Green and Jusuf Nurkic criticize each other after Warriors beat Suns
