Domantas Sabonis Praises Warriors' Draymond Green but 'There's No Room for That' Foul

Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis offered his perspective on the fourth-quarter situation that resulted in Draymond Green's ejection from the Golden State Warriors' 114-106 loss in Game 2 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs on Monday night.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Sabonis praised Green as a "great player" who "comes in and competes" but did note "there's no room for that" in reference to the controversial play late in the game.

The incident occurred when Sabonis fell to the ground amid a sea of bodies near the rim after a Malik Monk miss. The Kings' All-Star and Green got tangled up, leading to Green appearing to step on Sabonis' chest.

Sabonis appeared to grab Green's ankle before the stomp occurred. Sabonis received a technical foul on the play, and Green was ejected after being assessed a flagrant 2 foul.

There was a divided response over what happened on the play. Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard offered a defense of Green on Twitter:

It does appear Sabonis had his arms around Green's ankle before anything else occurred, but Green seemed like he escalated the situation by appearing to stomp his foot down on Sabonis' chest.

"My leg got grabbed," Green told reporters after the game. "Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I've got to land my foot somewhere. I'm not the most flexible person, so it's not stretching that far. … I can only step so far."

The Kings scored 23 points over the final 7:03 of the fourth quarter after Green's ejection. The Warriors did get within one point at 102-101 on Klay Thompson's three with 3:11 left to play, but Sacramento closed on a 12-5 run to secure the win.

Sabonis, who went just 5-of-17 from the field in Game 1, scored 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting on Monday. He also had nine rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes.

In addition to not having Green's defense for the second half of the fourth quarter, the Warriors missed his playmaking on offense. In Game 1, he led all players with 11 assists and grabbed nine rebounds, including two on the offensive end. He finished Monday with eight points, five assists and four rebounds.

The Warriors are down 0-2 in a playoff series for the first time since the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals against the Utah Jazz. They get to return home for Game 3 after going 33-8 at Chase Center during the regular season.

The Kings are two wins away from earning their first playoff series victory since the 2003-04 season.

Game 3 between the Kings and Warriors will be played on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.