After the Golden State Warriors lost Game 3 against the New Orleans Pelicans, Kevin Durant in particular received a lot of criticism. In the fourth game of the series KD has now returned thanks to Draymond Green.
Led by Durant’s 38 points, the Dubs won game 4 with 26 points difference and now stand with one foot in the Conference Finals again, for the fourth time in a row. Green revealed to ESPN after the game that he had contacted Durant after the bankruptcy in game 3.
“I can’t sleep when we play like this,” said Green, who had studied the game tape until 4 in the morning. This had so bothered him that in the end he sent Durant a “long-ass” text message to let him know how much he was upset.
“I simply challenged him to be who he is. I had to tell him that,” said Green. “I haven’t seen him aggressive enough, on both ends of the court. That’s what we need from him. I’m someone who won’t hold back, I’ll give my opinion if something goes wrong. No offense, but we want to win.”
When Durant woke up hours later, he only answered with “I got you”. On Sunday the final MVP told ESPN: “In short, Draymond just wanted me to play aggressively and not worry about anything else,” Durant said. “That’s what I wanted to do today. “I wasn’t aggressive enough in Game Three. It’s good for teammates to address that.”
Of course, Green was very happy with Durant’s performance in game 4: “That’s exactly what we need from him. He scored from everywhere and changed the game. That’s exactly the impact he can have when he plays so hard.”