The Draymond Green-Dillon Brooks Flashpoint Still Fueling Warriors-Suns

Few two-game stretches have defined an NBA rivalry like the Warriors and Suns in December 2025. One non-call and one ejection, 48 hours apart, turned Golden State-Phoenix into the league's most bitter matchup, and it's still shaping how these two teams see each other heading into their next meeting this season.

The Punch That Went Unpunished

It started on December 18, 2025. With about 40 seconds left and Phoenix clinging to a lead, Suns forward Dillon Brooks contested a three-point attempt by Stephen Curry and swung his arm into Curry's chest on the way down. Officials reviewed the play and ruled it a flagrant-1 foul, which meant Brooks stayed in the game. Curry called it "bush league" afterward. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was far more pointed, comparing it to an earlier Brooks hit that broke Gary Payton II's elbow in the playoffs and calling it "one of the dirtiest plays I've ever seen." His frustration with the replay process was blunt: "I don't know what the point of replay is if you're not gonna kick a guy out for literally punching somebody."

The Shove That Got Green Tossed

Two nights later, on December 20, the Warriors hosted Phoenix again. In the second quarter, Draymond Green blocked a drive by Suns guard Collin Gillespie, then shoved Gillespie as the two ran back up the floor. That drew his first technical foul. Green kept arguing with the officiating crew as teammates and Warriors staff tried to pull him away, and a second technical sent him to the locker room with 10:39 left in the first half. Kerr picked up a technical of his own protesting the ejection, calling the call "weak" and saying, "I totally disagree. And that's why I got my tech. Because I was furious they booted him out just like that so easily."

The contrast was impossible to miss: Brooks hit Curry and finished the game. Green shoved a defender and was gone before halftime.

Curry's Response: "It Woke Us Up"

Golden State trailed by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter without its emotional leader on the floor. Instead of folding, the Warriors held Phoenix to 39% shooting the rest of the way and stormed back to win 119-116. Curry credited the ejection itself for the turnaround afterward. "I think it woke us up," he said. "Because we knew without him, we're going to have to play even tougher, dig deeper down the rotation. I think everybody was kind of on alert and trying to have his back." Guard Gary Payton II echoed the sentiment, saying once Green was out, "we know we all got to come together and do it collectively."

Where Things Stand Now

Green returned to the Warriors on a one-year, $27.7 million contract for 2026-27, the same deal he had once opted out of to clear cap space for a run at LeBron James, who ultimately signed with Philadelphia instead. The two teams have already met once this season, with Phoenix winning 131-122 on October 24 behind 43 points from Devin Booker. They're scheduled to meet again on December 28 in Phoenix, and after the way 2025 ended between these two, it's unlikely to be a quiet one.

Catch up on the rest of the league's early-season storylines in our NBA first-week recap, and follow every development in our NBA coverage.

More from ForTheFans

• Inside the Dumont Family's Climb to Control of the Dallas Mavericks
• Point of Law, Once King Charles' Horse, Wins Melbourne Cup as Ryan Moore Sets Breeders' Cup Turf Record
• WWE Crown Jewel 2026 Card: Reigns vs. Zayn, Rhodes vs. Orton and Date in Riyadh
• World Marathon Champion Peres Jepchirchir Provisionally Suspended After Positive EPO Test
• 'I'm Unemployed': Westwood and Rahm Face a Murky 2027 Amid LIV Limbo
• Thunder Lose Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace to Season-Altering Injuries
• AEW News: Tony Khan on Adam Copeland's Retirement and Christian Cage's Injuries