The Warriors have the longest active winning streak in the league (5 games) and Draymond Green made clutch plays in their last two games to keep the streak alive.
Against the Spurs in San Antonio on Easter Sunday, Green, sandwiched between two Spurs players, secured a pivotal offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to Klay Thompson for the dagger three.
Green finished the game with 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting, 11 assists, six steals and was a game-best plus-13 in his 32 minutes. He joined Denver's Nikola Jokic as the only players in the league over the past four seasons to record at least 21 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and six steals in a game.
Highlights: Draymond Green's Incredible Performance in Win Over San Antonio Spurs – 3/31/24
"That was a defensive masterpiece," Head Coach Steve Kerr said following the Spurs game. "You watch that game; Draymond is a genius defensively."
At 6'5, Green was the primary defender on 7'4 center Victor Wembanyama, who also has an eight-foot wingspan. For five of his six steals, Green was either directly guarding Wembanyama or, for one of them, he ripped the rookie big as a help defender.
A couple days later, the Warriors returned to Chase Center to host the Dallas Mavericks, who had won seven straight games and have two of the most potent offensive weapons in the league: Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
With both players being guards, Green operated more as a free safety, reading the eyes of the floor generals and helping out when needed on pick-and-rolls. He intercepted two Doncic passes and a third intended for the league's leading scorer.
However, his defensive play of the game came in the fourth quarter, with the Warriors nursing a six-point lead. Again serving as a help defender, Green stopped Irving's dribble penetration and recovered to erase center Daniel Gafford's shot at the rim. Gafford ranks second among qualifiers in field percentage (68.3%) and Irving is one of the league's premier clutch-time scorers. Green prevented both players from doing what they do best.
Draymond Green says no!
"Initially just stepping up and make Kyrie (Irving) make a decision," Green said on his thought process on the possession. "If he's going to shoot the ball, I’m in a spot where I can get a contest. But also knowing that Gafford is right there for the drop-off, I couldn't over-commit."
Nineteen-year NBA veteran Chris Paul referred to Green's block as one of the best plays he's seen in his career.
The Warriors have held four of their last five opponents to 100 points or less and Green plans to continue leading the charge to set a crucial defensive tone.
"Our defense is the one thing that's non-negotiable; we have to defend at that level," Green said.
The Warriors are 9-0 when holding their opponents to 100 or fewer points and 22-4 when limiting them to under 110. They will continue to rely on their defensive anchor to lead the way in that regard.