It seems like the Golden State Warriors forgot what time of year it is, as there was a clear lack of Christmas cheer during their Sunday night matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Warriors were called for six technical fouls in the Christmas Day contest, including two against Jordan Poole, which saw him banished – the first ejection of his career.
Even with Poole’s night ending earlier than he anticipated, he still found a way to score a team-high 32 points. Per ESPN’s Stats & Info, Poole is the first player to score 30-plus while also being ejected from a Yuletide game. Merry Christmas to all, indeed.
The 23-year-old’s ejection came after he appeared to say something to the referee after Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr. drained a three. Poole instantly headed down the tunnel to the team’s locker room.
Poole’s two techs brought his season total to eight, putting him in a tie for fourth most in the league with Kelly Oubre Jr., Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards. Kevin Durant leads the league with 11 total technicals.
Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Jonathan Kuminga and coach Steve Kerr all joined Poole with technicals, bringing the Warriors’ total on the night to six.
Thompson’s was particularly eye-catching, as after hitting a jump shot over Canadian Dillon Brooks, Thompson taunted the Grizzlies defender as he fell to the ground.
Some of the animosity between the two squads may come from their meeting in last year’s Western Conference semifinals, which the Warriors won 4-2. The Grizzlies were without sensational guard Ja Morant in the series, and have been very outspoken about what might’ve been had they had their star at full strength.
Morant even told ESPN’s Malika Andrews earlier this month that the Boston Celtics were the only team he was worried about this season and was concerned about “no one in the West.”
Maybe Morant will have to re-evaluate that statement after Sunday.
Regardless, sign us up for another playoff series between these two teams if it is going to be anything like their meeting on Christmas Day.