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Draymond praises Kerr's 'amazing' support after coach's ejection

Rocky Widner / National Basketball Association / Getty

Currently tied for the league lead in technical fouls with 13, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green can appreciate the poetic resonance of a well-timed infraction.

Such was the case in Portland last night when Warriors coach Steve Kerr came to his player's defense after Green was assessed a flagrant foul for a fourth-quarter defensive play against Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins. Kerr's profane outburst earned him a quick ejection from the sideline.

"I loved that, too," Green said after the 129-107 loss, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. "That was amazing. It's great. He set the tone for us to close the game the way we did. It was good."

Still, Green lamented what he coined "the Draymond rule," a different standard he feels he's held to because of previous run-ins with officials. For his part, Kerr took offense to the referees' decision to upgrade Green's penalty from a common foul to a flagrant 1.

"I was just shocked that it was called a flagrant foul," Kerr said after the game. "That was head-scratching that could be called a flagrant foul. I mean, the guy's going to go up for a dunk, you got to make sure he doesn't dunk it. So I told (referee) Kenny (Mauer) I beg to differ."

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