Draymond Green is no stranger to controversy, but he has called the drama surrounding the officiating in the Warriors-Rockets playoff series "embarrassing."
The Warriors star said social media played a large part in the criticism of the officiating in Game 1, which saw the Warriors win, 104-101, but added that the teams tried to disassociate from that talk in Game 2 Tuesday night.
"I think both teams just realized what the hell was going on the last two days," Green said, via ESPN. "You can't really turn a blind eye to anything in today's day and age, with social media and all these things. So everyone was aware of all the talk about officiating and about foul calls — come out and play the game. And I think both teams did a great job of that.
"They weren't complaining about many calls, we weren't complaining about many calls, because it's kind of embarrassing for the game of basketball, how much has been talked about, about fouls and officiating. What about beating your man? What about stopping your man? No one talked anything about schemes the last two days. It's all been about foul calls. I think both teams were locked in on coming out and playing the game to the best of their ability. You have to give credit to both clubs, both teams did that."
The chatter started after Game 1, when James Harden said he wanted "a fair chance" to compete for a championship, indicating there were many missed calls against him and the Rockets.
However, the NBA's Last Two Minute Report revealed that no calls were missed against Harden. The league did concede it missed three total calls, with two of those against Stephen Curry.
For Game 2, both teams were noticeably more subdued against officials, even though referee Scott Foster — who has had a contentious relationship with the Rockets in the past — was the head official.
"I didn't even notice the officiating," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I don't think anybody did. I think that's the best compliment you can give them. They did a great job. This game was just about basketball."
When Harden and teammate Chris Paul were asked about Green's comments about the "chatter," both players downplayed the question.
"I don't know," Paul said. "I was chilling."
"What ref chatter?" Harden said. "There was no chatter."
With the 115-109 win against the Rockets, Golden State leads the series, 2-0.