Jusuf Nurkic hit out at Draymond Green after the pair exchanged words and taunts during the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry-inspired win over the Phoenix Suns.
The resurgent Warriors won 113-112 thanks to Curry's 33-foot 3-pointer in the dying seconds on Saturday.
But while Curry wrote the headlines, and received high praise from all involved, including former teammate Kevin Durant, Green and Nurkic were involved in a verbal tussle.
Green has been careful with his behaviour since he returned from an indefinite NBA suspension in January. He had been banned because he had hit Nurkic in the face during a clash between the Warriors and the Suns in December.
But Nurkic does not believe Green has learned any lessons.
"It's sad," he said. "He didn't learn anything. It's just a matter of time.
"He's going to hit somebody else again. I take everything back, what I said. He doesn't deserve a chance."
Nurkic taunted Green by slapping the floor twice with a "too small" gesture during the third quarter, with the Warriors star returning the favour when he scooped the ball over the Suns center two minutes later.
"You can't be a nothing defender if you're going to do that," Green said of Nurkic.
"You probably outweigh me by 70 pounds and you get put in the rim? Got to be more careful.
"I thought I was great tonight. He tried to get in my head, and it didn't work. If he wants me to walk around quiet, like him, I'm never going to do that. Quiet guys don't win.
"He can keep rocking with that same horse that he rode in on. He can ride his a** right out of here on that same horse. It's not working."
Curry laughed off Nurkic's comments.
"He's given us a lift every game he's been back," Curry said of Green. "He connects, obviously, our defense, but you can talk about his defense every game.
"What he did offensively tonight, especially in the fourth quarter, he gave us great energy in the sense of having that competitive spirit you need to win a game like tonight, to meet the moment.
"Draymond knows how to walk the line that he needs to walk. This is probably the best game that you've seen it.
"You can tell when someone is in your head when you go out of your way to celebrate. Then Draymond comes back at him. All of the talk, Draymond was in his head, plain and simple."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr likewise defended Green.
"That month off, that suspension was real," Kerr said. "[Draymond] knew that his career was on the line or is on the line. He understands that he's got to be the guy he's been the last nine years, not the one he's been the last year. I see him doing that."
Ultimately, it was Curry's quality that settled the contest. The two-time MVP finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists, with his match-winning moment coming when Bradley Beal missed an attempted steal, after Brandin Podziemski had picked out Golden State's talisman.
"He's the best to ever shoot it," Beal said. "So you know the result after that."
For Durant, who played alongside Curry with the Warriors, there was not much more the Suns could have done to deny his former teammate.
"You give him a look like that for the game, he's licking his chops," Durant reflected. "I still think we could've had that steal. It's a tough play. Sometimes guys are just that great."
Kerr added: "We were due. We were due for one of these tight games to go our way. But the guys earned it. It didn’t just happen."
The Warriors have now won their last four games and sit 10th in the Western Conference with a 25-25 record, while the Suns are sixth on 31-22.
'One-game series' for LeBron as Lakers secure lifeline with Nuggets win
LeBron James says the Los Angeles Lakers face a "one-game series" against the Denver Nuggets after clinching a lifeline in their Western Conference first-round battle in Game 4.
The Lakers avoided a sweep with Saturday's 119-108 home win over the reigning NBA champions, halting an 11-game losing streak in head-to-head meetings with Denver.
James had 30 points while Anthony Davis added 25 points and 23 rebounds as Los Angeles finally saw out a lead to stay alive in the playoffs.
They now return to Denver for Game 5 on Monday, knowing no team has ever overturned a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.
James, however, is taking things one game at a time, saying: "Well, the only opportunity for us is just to play the next game.
"We've given ourselves another life. We've given ourselves another lifeline, and it's a one-game series for us.
"Monday's game is the most important game of the season for us, and we understand that and we know that, it's at that stage where if you lose, you're done. You win and you keep going."
Davis' 25 points came on 11 of 17 shooting, and he is averaging 30.5 points and 15.8 rebounds throughout a series in which he is often up against likely 2023-24 MVP Nikola Jokic.
Davis attracted scrutiny when he appeared to blame head coach Darvin Ham for the Lakers' defeat in Game 2, but James says he doesn't have anything to prove through the rest of the series.
"AD doesn't have to prove anything to anybody," James said. "He's one of the best bigs we have in the game, one of the best bigs in the world. He's showing that again through the first four games."
Davis, meanwhile, was relieved to see the Lakers produce through four quarters, having squandered a 20-point lead back in Game 2.
"We have a lot of confidence in our team," Davis said. "We've had the lead a lot this series.
"It's just been our second halves, actually our third quarters, where we haven't been able to execute at scoring the basketball. So our confidence was never lost at any point in the game."
NBA: Lakers avoid sweep to Nuggets; Celtics take 2-1 lead on Heat and Thunder go up 3-0
LeBron James scored 30 points and Anthony Davis added 25 and 23 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers avoided a sweep with a 119-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in their Western Conference first-round series.
D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves each added 21 points to help the Lakers end an 11-game losing streak to the Nuggets, a stretch that included seven consecutive playoff losses.
The Lakers, who notched their first win over the Nuggets since December 2022, will try to stave off elimination again in Game 5 back in Denver on Monday.
Nikola Jokić had 33 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists for his 18th career playoff triple-double and second in this series.
Michael Porter Jr. added 27 points and 11 rebounds for the defending NBA champion Nuggets.
Los Angeles pushed its lead to 106-87 with six minutes remaining, but Denver whittled it down to six on Jokic’s three-point play with 1:25 to play. Reaves, though, hit a short jumper and added four free throws to seal the win.
Celtics roll over Heat
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led a balanced attack with 22 points apiece and the Boston Celtics led wire-to-wire in a 104-84 rout of the Miami Heat to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Game 4 is Monday in Miami, where the Celtics are 9-2 in their last 11 games and 6-1 in their last seven in the postseason.
Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points and Derrick White had 16 for top-seeded Boston, which reclaimed the home-court edge that it lost when Miami won Game 2.
The Celtics continued their bounce-back trend, improving to 15-4 in the games immediately following a loss this season with an average margin of victory in those games of 12.2 points.
Bam Adebayo scored 20 points and Nikola Jovic added 15 for the Heat, who are still without starters Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier due to injuries.
Thunder push Pelicans to brink of sweep
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder knocked down 17 3-pointers in a 106-85 win over the New Orleans Pelicans for a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey each scored 21 points and combined to go 7 for 11 from long range to help the top-seeded Thunder move a win away from the franchise’s first postseason sweep since eliminating Dallas in 2011-12.
Oklahoma City can complete the sweep in New Orleans in Game 4 on Monday night. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Brandon Ingram scored 19 points and CJ McCollum added 16 for the Pelicans, who continued to struggle offensively without injured star Zion Williamson. They were 9 for 32 from 3-point range and turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 23 Thunder points.
The Thunder took control with a 14-0 run in the second quarter for a 54-39 lead. They led 60-46 at halftime and maintained at least a 10-point advantage the rest of the way.
Doncic hails 'team player' Washington after Westbrook confrontation
Luka Doncic saluted "team player" P.J. Washington following his confrontation with Russell Westbrook during the Dallas Mavericks' victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavericks prevailed 101-90 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series, with Doncic falling just shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Although, it was a feisty affair at the American Airlines Center, where Washington and Westbrook were both ejected after an altercation following the latter's foul and shove on Doncic.
The five-time NBA All-Star was grateful for Washington's support and intervention, paying tribute to his team-mate.
"The things he does, he's a team player," Doncic said. "He helps all of us. I'm just really happy we've got him on our team.
"I'm used to [getting subjected to extra physicality. I just try to stay calm and keep playing basketball."
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was also pleased by the togetherness demonstrated by his players with emotions running high.
"We're all competing for each inch to try to win," he said. "This series is going to be more mental as it goes on, just because of the physicality.
"It's very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what's taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another."
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