Rajon Rondo Denies Baiting Draymond Green: 'He Talks a Lot of Ish'
Rajon Rondo and Draymond Green continued their war of words Friday night as the New Orleans Pelicans earned a 119-100 Game 3 win over the Golden State Warriors at Smoothie King Center in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Following a couple of verbal altercations during the blowout, Rondo told reporters Green is the one who has instigated the exchanges—not the other way around.
"That's his game," Rondo said. "I don't try to bait him into anything. He talks a lot of ish. That's part of it. We competin'. I don't think it's nothing more than we're battling on the court. He's a great competitor. I love competing against him."
Green offered a contrasting opinion at the postgame podium.
"I don't have to try and bait Rondo," he said. "I get nothing out of trying to bait Rondo at anything. That does nothing for me. Once again, when have I went up to him and tried to bait him? [Media] hate the storyline of somebody trying to bait me, huh? I've just got to be involved. 'Oh, Draymond is doing this!' At some point, somebody has got to tell the truth. It ain't Draymond this time.
"I've baited a lot of guys. I've tried to bait a lot of guys. Succeeded in quite a bit—sometimes not. I ain't trying to bait nobody."
On Friday, Rondo was the most obvious instigator. He appeared to try to trip Green in the fourth quarter and was given a technical foul:
Rondo finished Game 3 with an unusual stat line: four points on 2-of-11 shooting, 10 rebounds and a playoff career-high 21 assists. Green was busy too, notching 11 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, though he did have seven turnovers.
The two will rekindle their budding rivalry when Game 4 tips off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
