National Basketball Association

Warriors' Green suspended for Game 5

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:19 p.m. ET

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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is suspended for Monday night's Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers after he was assessed a flagrant foul 1 for his actions against LeBron James in Game 4.

Upon league office review, the penalty was announced Sunday by Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations.

"The cumulative points system is designed to deter flagrant fouls in our game" VanDeWeghe said in a statement. "While Draymond Green's actions in Game 4 do not merit a suspension as a standalone act, the number of flagrant points he has earned triggers a suspension for Game 5."

Green will serve his suspension as the Warriors attempt to clinch their second straight NBA title in Monday's game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. He has averaged 14.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists in the series and was a candidate for NBA Finals MVP.

Green can't be in the building for Monday's game due to the suspension. He will be docked a game check for the suspension, which will cost him about $140,000, according to ESPN.

The incident occurred when Green made unnecessary contact with a retaliatory swipe of his hand to the groin of James with 2:48 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Warriors' 108-97 win in Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Friday night.

Under league rules, any player who accumulates four flagrant foul points over the course of the playoffs will be automatically suspended for one game, and every additional flagrant foul will result in either a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul 1 or a two-game suspension for a flagrant foul 2.

Earlier in the postseason, Green was assessed a flagrant 2 and fined $25,000 for kicking Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams between the legs. He received a flagrant 1 for throwing down Houston Rockets forward Michael Beasley in the first round.

With less than three minutes left in Game 4, Green fell down and James tried stepping over his head as Green stood up. Green then swung his arm and made contact with James' groin area as he stood up and the two players had to be separated. A double foul was called.

"We got tangled up. It is what it is," Green said after Friday's game in an interview with ESPN Radio. "I've got mad respect for LeBron and what he's done. He's a competitor; I'm a competitor. It's Game 4 of the Finals. I don't think anyone expects anything less. And if they do, they're expecting the wrong thing."

The league also said James has been assessed a technical foul upon league office review for his role in the altercation, which included a physical taunt.

In addition, the league announced that Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of officiating.

Lue made his comments during the postgame press conference following Game 4 as the defending champion Warriors rebounded from a 30-point loss by beating the Cavs and taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Lue was upset with the officiating after James took only four free throws in the critical Game 4 loss.

"He never gets calls," Lue said Friday night. "I mean, he attacks. Outside of Russell Westbrook, he's one of the guys that attacks the paint every single play. And he doesn't get a fair whistle all the time because of his strength and because of his power and guys bounce off of him. But those are still fouls, and we weren't able to get them. But we've got to play through officiating."

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