Tempers have often flared in the first-round series between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, and that was the case again after Game 3. The Warriors managed to come away with a 104-93 win at Chase Center on Saturday, and after the final buzzer, Jalen Green and Draymond Green were involved in a heated altercation. Jalen was asked about the exchange postgame and took a shot at Draymond.
“Just talking,” Green said. “He can’t really do much of anything else, so talking is his only way.”
That’s a spicy response. Jalen had hit Draymond in the face in Game 2 as well, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if these two clash at some point later in the series, too.
As for what Jalen had to say, Draymond can do a lot on the court, and the Rockets should know that all too well. The four-time All-Star hasn’t been at his best offensively in this series, but he has been immense defensively.
Draymond put up seven points (3-11 FG), eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks in Game 3. He played better than Jalen, who had nine points (4-11 FG), six rebounds, five assists, and one steal. The Rockets guard had scored 38 points to lead the Rockets to victory in Game 2, but didn’t even come close to replicating those heroics here.
In fact, that exchange with Draymond was the highlight of the night when it came to Jalen, albeit for the wrong reasons. Here is the altercation between the two in case you missed it.
Draymond telling Jalen Green to paint his nails LMFAOOOOOOOđđ pic.twitter.com/6JIqheEUYN
— terry (@terryworst) April 27, 2025
It did appear as if Draymond was telling Jalen to paint his nails. The Warriors forward was asked postgame if that was what the Rockets guard had taken offense to, but he wasn’t interested in talking about this incident.
“I’m not sure what he took to, but it was a good win for us,” Draymond stated.
It was a great win for the Warriors. Defeat seemed very likely when it was announced that Jimmy Butler would miss this game due to the deep glute muscle contusion he suffered in Game 2.
The Warriors had looked like a below-average team in the regular season when Butler hadn’t been on the court, going 25-27 in 52 games without him. That meant the Rockets had a golden chance to snatch back home-court advantage and take a 2-1 lead in the series, but they blew it.
The Rockets led by as many as 13 points in the first half but weren’t able to hold on to that advantage. The teams then exchanged blows for much of the second half before the Warriors managed to pull away in the closing minutes to take a 2-1 lead.
Stephen Curry put in a magical performance to lead the Warriors to victory, finishing with 36 points (12-23 FG), seven rebounds, nine assists, one steal, and two blocks. The Rockets have been extremely physical against Curry throughout this series, but he is still finding ways to dominate.
The Rockets now find themselves in somewhat of a must-win situation, as they cannot afford to go down 3-1 against the Warriors. Butler could well be back for Game 4, though, which will be at Chase Center on Monday at 10 PM ET, so the task is likely going to be a lot harder.
