Green on Incident With Harden: ‘He Does It Often … Which Is Kind of Adolescent'

OAKLAND -- Draymond Green walked into his postgame interview session late Friday night and admitted throwing a punch at James Harden.

With 5:55 left in the third quarter of a 107-98 Warriors victory over Houston, Green took a whack at Harden's left arm, knowing full well the Rockets guard and MVP candidate has been playing with a tender left wrist.

Green also explained why he got physical.

"He pinched me," Green said. "So I punched his wrist. That's pretty much it."

The Warriors were trailing 72-70 when Green and Harden engaged in the briefest of physical exchanges during a Warriors possession. Green was trying to slip past Harden, who grabbed below Green's ribcage. Green didn't really throw a punch, but he did slap Harden's arm, for which he whistled for an offensive foul by lead official Mike Callahan.

"I thought it was a closed-fist hit," Harden said. "I don't know. I don't know what he saw."

Though Green has unwanted history with a number of officials, as well as the NBA office, over his aggressive play, he expressed no regret

"He does it often, actually, which is kind of adolescent," Green said of the pinching.

"But that's what happened."

Green exited his interview session saying he's sure he'll a call (from the NBA office) saying he "punched" somebody.

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