SAN FRANCISCO — Three days after the fight between Steve Kerr and Draymond Green checked the foundations of your organization, Golden State Warriors completed the homestand with a 3-0 win and ended a whirlwind week at their fastest pace in a month.
“We're in a good position,” Kerr said after the team's 126-116 exhibition win on Christmas Day. Dallas Mavericks.
A day earlier, Kerr and Green had been in front of the team at practice, apologizing for their role in the sideline dispute that overshadowed Monday night's blowout win over the team. Orlando Magic.
The altercation began early in the third quarter following a Green turnover and a Kerr timeout. As Kerr tried to distract Green from talking to the officials, the two exploded at each other, causing a heated Green to leave the bench and head to the locker room, sitting out the final 20 minutes and setting off yet another round of internal Warriors drama for the world to discuss.
“The two of them 1766718701 in a better place,” Steph Curry said. “These things happen. They have many years of experience in relationships that have had their moments. They did a good job yesterday in practice and we did a good job today as a team.”
Kerr held a 15-minute press conference after practice on Wednesday, apologizing for his part in the interaction and reiterating his desire for Green to remain with the Warriors for the rest of his career.
Green responded with a calm and relatively controlled 28 minutes of victory over the Mavericks, but his teammates did the heavy lifting. Curry scored 23 points, leading a group of seven Warriors in double figures.
Returning from sciatica, a veteran of the center Al Horford made four threes in the first quarter to provide the necessary separation. Jimmy Butler had 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to lead a losing Mavericks team. Anthony Davis groin spasms in the second quarter.
“It’s not going to be quiet all the time,” Butler said of Greene and Kerr’s dispute. “Everything is fine. You have two fierce rivals who have won together and want to win constantly. I expect that to happen.”
Butler was in the middle of the fiery commotion and went to check on Green during his long cooling-off period in the locker room. Butler looked pleased with the end result. The Warriors have won three straight to improve their record to 16-15 heading into a three-game road trip to Toronto, Brooklyn and Charlotte.
“I love it,” Butler said. “You're all yelling at each other. This got me a little excited. I won't even lie. I like it. I like confrontation. It's good for us.”
