Kristaps Porzingis made the mistake of admitting that he was looking forward to his Thursday night matchup with Draymond Green, and predictably, this got under the All-Star forward’s skin.
Draymond Green — get this — was fired up by some pregame comments. This time by Kristaps Porzingis. pic.twitter.com/CqYSCMXfn8
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 16, 2016
A fired-up Green hounded the 21-year-old into a 4-of-13 shooting performance in the Golden State Warriors’ 103-90 win against the visiting New York Knicks.
Draymond Green essentially warned Kristaps Porzingis to keep his name out of his mouth. https://t.co/rkQhaNsjUB
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) December 16, 2016
Porzingis still can’t figure out the defensive ace: he had shot a combined 4-of-19 in their two previous battles.
Per ESPN:
“My Nike rep, Adrian [Stelly], showed me something on the sideline like two minutes right before the game tipped off that kind of pissed me off and made me want to go a little harder this game and guard him,” Green said. “So, it was good. I appreciate him for showing me that because I think I was in La-la Land before he showed me that and it just immediately pissed me off.”
“I like the passion, I like the dog that he has, I like that you want to see me again, but keep that to yourself,” Green said. “Don’t let everybody know that you’re going after me. So I guess we’re going to go after each other and that’s fine. I think he’s a great player. I think he will continue to get better and better, but that made it real personal.”
“It just wasn’t in my rhythm really, maybe a little too anxious, you know, wanting to do too much,” Porzingis said. “Got to learn from this. Draymond gets into you every time. Before you get the ball, when you’ve got the ball, he’s into you. He’s always using his hands. He’s just a smart defender and he knows how to be in position where you feel uncomfortable.”
Related
Gary Payton: Draymond Green ‘Reminds Me of Myself’
Draymond Green: ‘I’ve Been Incredible Defensively This Year’
