NEED TO KNOW

• Warriors’ Draymond Green was ejected after he put his hands on Dillon Brooks’ neck on Monday, Nov. 2

• Brooks ran up to Green after the Warriors star committed a hard foul on Khaman Maluach, throwing him to the floor

• Steph Curry said Green’s scuffle with Brooks “lit a fire in” the Warriors, who went on to win 116-113

Draymond Green was ejected from the Golden State Warriors’ matchup against the Phoenix Suns on Monday, Nov. 2 after he and Dillons Brooks got into it in the third quarter.

The Warriors were down by seven points when Green, 36, committed a hard foul on Suns center Khaman Maluach, throwing him to the floor on a shot attempt. Maluach, 20, remained on the floor for a moment as an upset Brooks, 30, ran up to Green.

Green grabbed Brooks by the neck of his jersey and the two began shoving each other in the face, shoulders and neck as their teammates tried to break up the scuffle.

The Warriors’ broadcasters said it was Yusef Wright, a member of Golden State’s security and longtime bodyguard for Steph Curry, who was able to pull Green away from his opponent. “You don’t want that to escalate at all,” the announcer said after.

Brooks received a technical foul for his part in the scuffle, while Green was handed two technical fouls, resulting in an immediate ejection. Monday’s ejection was Green’s 31st since his NBA career began 15 years ago, per ESPN.

Speaking to reporters after the game, a 116-113 victory for Golden State, Brooks claimed he was “just trying to de-escalate” the situation between Green and Maluach after the hard foul, according to ESPN.

“He was just tweaking all game,” Brooks claimed of Green, who did not speak with the media on Monday.

Meanwhile, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr chalked up the fiery moment to healthy competition between athletes. “That’s just the greatest NBA basketball players on earth competing,” Kerr said, noting, “Nothing serious happened.”

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Curry said Green “lit a fire in all of us” and told reporters he was “glad” he and his teammates were able to pull off the win. “We had to respond,” said Curry.

Next, the Warriors will host the Miami Heat on Thursday, Nov. 5.

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