Warriors Notes: Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Buddy Hield

The Warriors were down 11 early Saturday. Then Draymond Green got himself tossed. And somehow, that helped.

Green picked up two quick technicals early in the second quarter and was ejected, a moment that could’ve sunk Golden State. Instead, it flipped the game. The Warriors rallied to beat the Suns and snapped a three-game losing streak, as noted by Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area.

“Once he’s out of there, we know we all got to come together,” guard Gary Payton II said. “When we’re doing that as a unit, we can be pretty damn good.”

Sometimes subtraction does that.

Chaos to Control

Green’s exit came after he shoved Collin Gillespie in transition, then immediately went after lead official Pat Fraher. Automatic ejection. End of story.

What followed was a defensive reset. Phoenix scored 44 points and dunked five times in the first quarter. After that, the Warriors locked in, holding the Suns to 31.8 percent shooting across the second and third quarters.

Stephen Curry said the absence forced a collective edge.

“I think it woke us up,” Curry said. “Without him, we’re going to have to play even tougher.”

Kerr Still Seething

Steve Kerr wasn’t buying it.

Kerr called Green’s ejection “weak” and used it as a springboard to revisit Thursday’s matchup, when he believed Dillon Brooks delivered what Kerr described as a “premeditated” punch to Curry’s stomach.

Brooks was hit with a flagrant one after review. No ejection. No suspension.

“How can you not be upset?” Kerr said, referencing Brooks’ past history, including the playoff incident that broke Payton’s elbow. “I don’t know what the point of replay is if you’re not gonna kick a guy out for literally punching somebody.”

Lineup Call Pays Off

One other wrinkle mattered. Rookie Will Richard scored 20 points, but only because Kerr made a tough call.

Buddy Hield was a healthy scratch, ending a streak of 199 consecutive games played. Kerr said it wasn’t easy. He also said it was necessary.

“I felt terrible,” Kerr said, via Poole. “But we needed to get Will back out there. You can see why.”

Hield took it like a pro, which Kerr expects. The Warriors got energy, production and a win. Sometimes, the uncomfortable moves are the right ones.