Draymond Green celebrates controversial ejection for flagrant 2 foul vs. Grizzlies

Draymond Green is no stranger to high-profile playoff bans.

He earned another on Sunday. For a half, at least.

The Golden State Warriors forward drew a whistle for a foul late in the second quarter in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against Memphis. Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke jumped for a layup in the lane as Green contested. Green grabbed his jersey, and Clark fell to the court, prompting the whistle.

As officials reviewed the play to determine what level of foul to assess, Grizzlies fans chanted “throw him out.”

Throw him out, they did. Officials assessed Green a flagrant 2 foul on the play, which meant an automatic ejection. Green got word of the ejection before officials announced it to the broadcast crew. He responded with a mock victory lap taunting the Grizzlies crowd before running to the Warriors bench to dap up his teammates. He then skipped to the locker room.

Green attempted to brace Clarke’s fall on the play, and social media and the ESPN broadcast crew speculated that he would draw a flagrant 1 foul — a designation that doesn’t come with an ejection. The more serious infraction arrived as a surprise. Another replay angle appears to tell the story.

Prior to the jersey grab with his left hand, Green swiped Clarke across the face with his right.

The combination of the swipe and the jersey grab led to his ejection.

“After review, the foul has been upgraded to a flagrant foul penalty 2,” referee Kane Fitzgerald announced after the replay review. “Draymond Green has been ejected for the windup to the face, impact to the face, the follow-through to the jersey and the throw-down to the ground.”

Memphis led, 54-53 at the time of the foul with 1:18 remaining in the quarter. It extended its lead to 61-55 heading into halftime. Making matters worse for Green, his flagrant 2 puts him on the cusp of a suspension based on the…