LeBron James said Draymond Green went too far with his trash talk during Game 4 of the Finals on Friday, but Green believes James instigated the whole standoff by ostentatiously stepping over him after Green fell to the deck.
"(James) stepped over me and I felt like that was disrespectful," Green told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears. "I don't disrespect you on the court. Don't disrespect me. There's no love lost. It is what it is. It’' a battle out there. I'm going to battle with whoever it is."
Green has avoided picking up a flagrant foul since being retroactively hit with a flagrant 2 for kicking Oklahoma City Thunder big man Steven Adams in the junk during Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. He's still sitting on three flagrant points in the postseason - one short of earning an automatic one-game suspension. Green was aware of his precarious foul situation as he engaged with James, and made a point of not getting dragged into a protracted confrontation.
"We had our words," Green said. "I said what I had to say and he said what he had to say. Move on. I'm not going to sit there and argue with him. I know what position I'm in, in terms of double techs and stuff. Just move on from it."
The cameras did, however, pick up Green delivering what appeared to be another groin shot - though intent was impossible to glean - as James was stepping over him. If the league again decides to give Green a retroactive flagrant, he'll have to sit out Game 5 on Monday.
