Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) jogs off the court after getting ejected on Tuesday against the Suns. It was the 18th time in his career he has been tossed from a game.
Rick Scuteri | AP photo
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SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face and received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection.
The league said the penalty handed down by operations chief Joe Dumars begins immediately. This is already Green’s second suspension this season.
“He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” the league said.
The NBA noted that “this outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
The Warriors didn’t have a statement Wednesday but said Green’s suspension would be addressed at shootaround Thursday in Los Angeles ahead of a game against the Clippers.
The 33-year-old Green, part of four Warriors championships, was ejected for the 18th time in his career — most among active NBA players.
As the Warriors were inbounding the ball near their own bench early in the third quarter in a 119-116 loss at Phoenix, Green and Nurkic were fighting for position near the baseline corner and the two tangled. Green appeared to slip slightly then pivoted around right into Nurkic with his right arm connecting with the big man’s face.
Nurkic fell to the ground instantly and stayed down briefly before getting up to remain in the game.
“That had nothing to do with basketball,” Nurkic said. “I’m just out there trying to play basketball.”
Green was suspended five games by the NBA for putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert into a headlock during an altercation in November.
There is little precedent for an indefinite suspension. In 2010, then-Commissioner David Stern suspended Washington guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely for bringing firearms into the team locker room. That was a precursor to what became a 50-game suspension for Arenas, after Stern said “his ongoing conduct … led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game.”
Last season during training camp, Green took a leave of absence from the 2022 NBA champions in what coach Steve Kerr called a “mutual decision” after the star forward violently punched then-teammate Jordan Poole in the face.
76ERS 129, PISTONS 111
DETROIT — Joel Embiid scored 30 of his 41 points in the first half and Philadelphia handed Detroit its 21st straight loss to open a home-and-home series.
Detroit matched the longest streak in franchise history, set at the end of the 1979-80 season and start of 1980-81. It is the sixth-longest single-season losing streak in the NBA.
Only the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers (both lost 26 straight), along with the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (all lost 23 in a row) have lost more games in a row in a season. Philadelphia holds the overall mark of 28, set at the end of 2014-15 and start of 2015-16.
Detroit dropped to 2-22, with the teams set to meet again Friday night in Philadelphia. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 33 points.
PELICANS 142, WIZARDS 122
WASHINGTON — Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 40 points, Trey Murphy III added six 3-pointers and 27 points and short-handed New Orleans had its best offensive showing of the season to rout Washington.
CJ McCollum had 22 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 18 rebounds. Zion Williamson sat out because of a sprained ankle.
Kyle Kuzma scored 27 points for Washington. The Wizards lost for the 20th time in 23 games, the fastest the team has reached that loss total since the 2012-13 season.
HEAT 115, HORNETS 104
MIAMI — Duncan Robinson scored 23 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kyle Lowry each added 17 and Miami beat Charlotte to finish off a two-game home-and-home sweep.
Lowry was perfect shooting — 5 for 5 from the floor, 4 for 4 of those on 3-pointers and 3 for 3 from the line. Jimmy Butler had 15 points and 10 assists.
Terry Rozier scored 28 points for Charlotte.