Golden State Warriors keep their playoff hopes alive despite early Draymond Green ejection

The Golden State Warriors are fighting for their playoff lives at this point of the season, and they were able to head in the right direction after picking up a much needed victory over the Orlando Magic at Kia Center despite losing Draymond Green in less than 5 minutes.

The 8-time All-Defensive team member picked up 2 early technical fouls which resulted in an ejection just 4 minutes into the game. Stephen Curry was upset at the refs for throwing him out as it seemed like an overreaction in his opinion. It was an important game for Golden State as they are fighting for the last spot in the play-in tournament.

Andrew Wiggins was the hero for the Warriors as he finished with a team-high 23 points and 2 blocks. Stephen Curry and 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists while Klay Thompson contributed 15 points. The Splash Brothers each shot 3/8 from downtown in this game. Moses Moody provided 12 points off the bench including a highlight play where he made 2 defenders fall into each other.

Cole Anthony had a strong night as he finished with a game-high 26 points off the bench including 5 made three-pointers. Paolo Banchero finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists while Franz Wagner had 14 points with 5 boards. Jonathan Isaac provided 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks off the bench.

Golden State improves to 38-34 with this win and now increase the gap to 1.5 games between them and the thriving Rockets. Houston has been on fire as of late, and their success has given the Warriors a scare. However, the dynasty has all the experience and championship DNA that they know how to thrive under pressure. This is now 2 wins in a row for the Dubs and they will look to build more momentum on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets.

Orlando drops to 42-30 with this loss. They were in the hunt to sneak into the 4th seed and it’s still possible if they can turn things around and pick up some wins. The Magic remain the 5 seed and is 3 games away from dropping into the play-in, so they need to make sure they don’t go on a losing streak and fall down the standings. This is now 2 losses in a row so they’ll look to bounce back on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers.