The Golden State Warriors- Los Angeles Lakers rivalry has become one of the early storylines of this NBA season, and Luka Doncic is seemingly at the center of every headline. First came his opening-night feud with Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg. Then came an ugly moment on Oct. 30, when Stephen Curry left him on the floor with an ankle-breaker. Now, Draymond Green has jumped into an argument with a fan over it.
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The play started with 6:27 left in the third quarter of Golden State’s 112-95 win. Curry isolated Doncic on the left wing and hit him with a dribble combination, and at 6:24, Doncic tumbled to the floor. Curry paused for a moment, then calmly knocked down the three. For Doncic, it was the kind of highlight no defender wants to be on the wrong end of.
One fan on Threads froze a frame of the move that appeared to show Curry’s hand on Doncic’s chest, and argued it should have been a push-off. Green wasn’t having it.
“Man you really wasted your time to freeze frame that in the perfect spot for your narrative”, Green said in a reply on Threads. “I promise you, Luka don’t care that much. Go mind the business that pays you man. Happy Sunday.”
The image may bring into doubt how much contact Curry had with Doncic on the play. However, it did not change the outcome. No foul was called, even with the league cracking down on offensive push-offs this season.
After his shot dropped, Curry grabbed his head in disbelief, a reaction that many took as him taunting the Lakers star. Curry later said he was as surprised as anyone.
“I was just trying to get a little bit of space,” he told Prime Video after the game. “I didn’t expect it to get that nasty, but it was one of those [where] you gotta kind of keep your composure.”
However, throughout the Warriors’ win, he torched Doncic whenever he could, seemingly intent on making the night as bad for #77 as possible.
With 3:26 left in the second quarter, Curry came off a screen, lost Austin Reaves as a defender, and when Doncic switched onto him, Steph didn’t hesitate to launch a three-pointer over Doncic’s outstretched arm, sinking it with ease.
Later, in the third quarter, with 9:00 left on the clock, Curry had Doncic on skates. He created separation with dribble moves, drove into the paint, and went for a layup, flipping it in while leaving Luka in the dust.
The ankle-breaker was perhaps the highlight of a big comeback. The Warriors trailed 38-15 after the first quarter, and from that play on, they outscored the Lakers 52-23. Doncic did hit a three right back, and the two shook hands after the game.
It may have also been a bit of payback for when Doncic and Lendeborg traded words, and Doncic pointed and laughed at the rookie after hitting a buzzer-beater before halftime during the season opener. Curry admitted to reporters that it was important to have his teammates back. But he also stated that it was about getting the win and making Doncic’s life as hard as possible while doing so.
Curry definitely accomplished the latter, finishing the game with 31 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Although Doncic dropped 37 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, his Lakers still lost. Two nights later, the Warriors beat the Clippers 124-112 without Curry and Green for their fourth straight win, behind a career-high 37 points from Lendeborg.
Unsurprisingly, Green defended Curry after his ankle-breaker on Doncic. He’s also had plenty to say about Doncic lately. On the October 21 episode of The Draymond Green Show, he argued that this season could be Doncic’s last real shot at an MVP.
“Luka will never win an MVP in the NBA. This is the last possible year he can win it,” Green said.
Green argues that Doncic has had such a high level of success for so long that it isn’t even recognized. Green stated that even if Doncic averages 34 PPG, it’s thought of as normal rather than extraordinary.
The Lakers and the Warriors next face off against each other on January 21, 2027. Doncic will have to wait more than two months if he wants to get revenge against Curry and prove Green wrong.