Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) argues a call during the first half of Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
It was only a matter of time before the Toyota Center crowd directed their ire at Draymond Green. It took all of six quarters for the Houston Rockets‘ friendly confines to erupt in a rage at the Golden State Warriors’ star.
Green, a four-time champion, four-time All-Star and all-time NBA instigator, harassed Houston’s youngsters throughout a 95-85 win at Toyota Center in Game 1 of the first-round series Sunday night. The antics were upped another notch in Game 2.
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Green’s flailing limbs sent Amen Thompson to the floor in the first quarter. Both Green and Dillon Brooks tumbled to the hardwood in the backcourt shortly thereafter. A shoving match with Tari Eason on a jump ball in the second quarter then sent Houston’s fans over the edge. A hearty “f–k you, Draymond” chant erupted from the Toyota Center crowd, rekindling a flame of fury unseen in Houston home games at any prior point this decade.
WARNING: Video contains NSFW language.
Draymond Green works very hard at being a jackass and Rockets fans let him know what they think. Of course he thrives on that crap.
TNT: “If there’s not a fight in this series that’ll be a bigger upset than anything else that could happen in the playoffs.” pic.twitter.com/J0JjDDsoMj
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) April 24, 2025
Rockets fans renewed their chants at Green after a fourth-quarter scrum cleared the benches.
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WARNING: Video contains NSFW language.
Perhaps we shouldn’t encourage a singing chorus of profanity. But I’d be lying in saying there isn’t something about Wednesday’s spectacle that warms my basketball fan heart. Rockets vs. Warriors was the Western Conference’s premier rivalry late last decade, with the battles of 2018 and 2019 providing elite drama, plenty of bickering and more than a fair share of technical fouls. What followed in Houston was a string of years in the Western Conference cellar, and a question of when, if ever, the franchise would ever again hit the heights of the James Harden era.
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The Rockets, to use Warriors’ parlance, are still light years away from returning to the near-Finals heights of Harden’s runs. But playoff basketball being back at Toyota Center is itself something to celebrate. Houston’s crowd met the moment Wednesday, unleashing anger at Green years in the making.
April 23, 2025
