NBA: Golden State Warriors win despite Draymond Green ejection, Kevin Durant helps Phoenix Suns past Denver Nuggets

Draymond Green was ejected less than four minutes into Golden State Warriors' 101-93 victory against the Orlando Magic.

The Warriors needed a victory to stay in 10th place in the Western Conference – the final spot for the post-season play-in tournament.

But the team lost a player early when Green disputed a foul call on Andrew Wiggins. Official Ray Acosta issued Green with a technical foul, and when the power forward continued to argue as he made his way to the bench, gave him a second.

There was still eight minutes and 24 seconds left to play in the first quarter when Green was ejected, leaving team-mate Stephen Curry visibly upset at the incident.

The Warriors still managed to overcome the Magic, with Wiggins scoring 23 points and Curry 17.

"We found a way to fight it to the end and get a win," Curry said. "It did start with the defensive effort of being detail-focused, talking, rebounding, and then we were locked in for a good stretch of the game."

It was Green’s fourth ejection of the season, and the second time he had been given his marching orders in the first quarter of a match this campaign.

He was ejected after putting Timberwolves centre Rudy Gobert in a headlock in November, and served a 12-game suspension for hitting Phoenix Suns centre Jusuf Nurkic in December.

"We need him," Curry said about Green. "He knows that. We all know that. So, whatever we need to do to keep him on the floor and be available, that's what's got to happen. Especially at this point in the year. It was a tough way to start the game."

Elsewhere, Kevin Durant scored 30 points, 13 rebounds and three assists to help the Phoenix Suns to a 104-97 victory against the Denver Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic was the highest scorer for Denver with 22 points, also tallying 10 assists and nine rebounds, but it was not enough to prevent another defeat to the Suns.

It was only Denver’s third loss in their past 18 games, with two of those defeats coming against the Suns at home.

Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets won their 10th match in a row with a 132-126 victory over Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Los Angeles Lakers earned their fifth successive victory with a 136-124 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Devin Vassell scored 31 points as the San Antonio Spurs got past Utah Jazz 118-111.

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