Why Draymond purposely kept emotions in check ahead of Klay’s return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – On a night when emotions were running high on the Chase Center court and in the crowd, the Warriors’ most passionate player did a great job of keeping his own feelings in check.

Draymond Green put up the trademark scoring that has come to define his brilliant and spirited career – 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks – as he played a crucial role in the Warriors’ 120-117 victory over Klay Thompson. and the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.

It was Thompson’s first game back at Chase Center since leaving the Bay Area basketball dynasty, helping build and sign a free-agent deal with the Mavericks.

The ever-popular Thompson was wildly cheered by the crowd as a pre-match tribute video played on the scoreboard above the pitch – and the good feelings for the former Splash Brother continued throughout the night.

About the only person who didn’t get caught up in all the hoopla was Green.

“We just wanted to win the game,” Green said. “It wasn’t really about Klay. With Klay coming back in here, we obviously knew he was going to be competitive, like he always has been. Today wasn’t quite good enough.

“We weren’t there, ‘Oh man Klay is in a different sweater.’ It is what it is. We have had great years here. He’s trying to do something special there, we’re trying to do something special here. Once you get between those rows, all that extra stuff goes out the window.

Most of the pre-game talk focused on the emotions Thompson and Stephen Curry would be feeling. Those two, along with Green, were cornerstones as the Dubs won four NBA titles in eight years.

Green managed to avoid much of that talk, but couldn’t escape it when the day finally arrived.

Even then, the Warriors’ four-time All-Star didn’t flinch.

“If I’m completely honest with you, I had no emotion whatsoever towards, ‘Oh well, this is Klay’s return,’” Green said. “I did some things to make sure I didn’t have any emotions about it, but it wasn’t like I just didn’t care. No, of course. We are people, we care. But I’ve been at this for a long time and have played against many friends. This is clearly different. Klay Thompson gets as much credit for building this as Steph Curry and myself. Not anymore. He is right in the middle of it.”

As true as that was, Green tried to keep the moment of Thompson’s return in perspective. In his eyes, it was just another regular season game.

“That just wasn’t it for me,” Green said. “It was a basketball game that we really wanted to win, that had more implications than just a regular season game, and that’s what it was.”

Green certainly had fun with it.

He sank a clutch 3-pointer in front of the Mavs’ bench midway through the third quarter, then turned and started chirping at the Dallas bench.

Green later gave Moses Moody a bounce pass in the fourth quarter that led to a dunk and a 104-103 Golden State lead.

“(Warriors assistant coach) Chris DeMarco said he played like it was Game 7 of the (NBA) Finals,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “But that’s Draymond, he’s the ultimate competitor.”

Green shared a few moments with Thompson, but after tip-off it was all business for both men.

“You don’t win four championships together without that competitive fire,” Green said. “He has that, and we’ve always known that. We have that, and he’s known that forever. That always will happen. When you play against someone you’re close with, you want to beat him even more. It increases just the level of competition. So when you see him out there you want to do great things and that was kind of the mentality.

To keep his emotions in check, Green did not come to court when the tribute video to Thompson was played. Green had previously watched the video and thought it would be best if he stayed behind when it was played to the crowd.

“I just didn’t want to deal with those emotions because A, there’s a love for Klay that’s not going anywhere. But B, by watching his replays, we’re all part of it,” Green said. “So then you start diving into the emotions: ‘Oh, I remember that. We had to overcome that in that playoff run.”

“You start going down those alleys, let him have that. That was a big thing for me. I just didn’t want to stand out the first time I saw his tribute video when I watched it.”

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