Draymond Green gets flagrant foul for ‘inadvertent’ contact with Tari Eason’s head

Draymond Green narrowly avoided an automatic ejection in the first half of Game 4 between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Green received a technical foul for a scuffle with Dillon Brooks in the second quarter. Minutes later, Green was involved in another controversial sequence with Rockets forward Tari Eason that led to the Warriors star getting hit with a flagrant-1, but avoiding an automatic ejection that would have come with his second technical.

Eason stripped the ball from Green, and as the two players dove on the floor for the loose ball, Green rolled over on Eason and dropped his leg on his head. Green then grabbed Eason’s jersey as the Rockets forward was getting up. The refs reviewed the play, and determined that Green’s kick was inadvertent. He would have kicked out of the game with a flagrant-2 call or with another technical foul, but the flagrant-1 determination allowed him to keep playing.

Watch Green’s flagrant foul here and decide for yourself if it was inadvertent contact.

Here’s another look at the play from a different angle.

This is another classic Draymond moment in the NBA Playoffs. It feels like there have been hundreds of similar plays through the years, but this time Green avoided the ejection.

Here’s a look at the technical foul from earlier in the game that led to Green and Brooks both getting technical fouls.

Not everyone was buying that Green deserved to stay in the game as the tensions escalated. Here’s a small sampling of the social media reaction to Green’s latest rumble.

The Warriors lead the series 2-1 going into Game 4.