The Golden State Warriors hosted the Washington Wizards on Friday night (Oct. 27) and things got exciting as a skirmish broke out toward the end of the first half. Draymond Green of the Warriors and Bradley Beal of the Wizards were jostling near the basket, leading to both players wrestling to the ground and a lot of on-court chaos taking place. The players even fell into the front row underneath the Wizards’ basket as they were surrounded by other players, officials, and fans at the game.
The immediate aftermath was that Green and Beal got ejected from the game.
Green has a long history of this type of behavior, especially when it comes to lashing out at star players of the other team. If Green intended to create a situation where Beal would get ejected and harm the Wizards, then he succeeded in a big way. The Wizards had a 14-point lead at halftime but ended up losing the game without Beal playing in the second half.
The aftermath of the Green vs. Beal ‘fight’
The Washington Wizards could be looking at a suspension for two players who left the bench as the “scrum” was taking place on the court. Markieff Morris and Carrick Felix stepped off the bench, which is typically an automatic one-game suspension from the league. It is unclear what type of disciplinary action will be taken against Draymond Green or Bradley Beal.
A report by ESPN quoted Draymond Green as he left the locker room at halftime. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do if someone hits you twice. Man, you’re taught as a kid not to allow that. What was I supposed to do?” As for Bradley Beal, the article went on to report that he apologized to his teammates at halftime as well as after the game.
He reportedly stated that he “needs to show better leadership and control.”
Impact on the NBA standings
With a 120-117 win in this game, the Golden State Warriors improved to 4-2 on the season. The Warriors are second place in the Pacific Division, trailing the Los Angeles Clippers (4-0) to this point of the season. The Clippers have been playing spectacular defense, allowing just 91.8 points per game while scoring an average of 111 points on offense.
That differential could predict good things for the Clippers this season. The Warriors play the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night (Oct. 29).
The Washington Wizards dropped to 3-2 with this loss, taking the team out of a tie for the best record in the Eastern Conference. They are now tied with a Cleveland Cavaliers team trying out a new starting lineup on Saturday (Oct. 28) and a resurgent Boston Celtics squad that Kyrie Irving has helped get back on track. The Wizards are next on the court Sunday against the Sacramento Kings.
