Jeff Green didn’t think of his altercation with Indiana Pacers shooting guard Lance Stephenson as nothing more than just a part of the game.
The often-rowdy wing got into a scrambling situation, hoping for a jump-ball but was determined a common foul after further review. Both Green and Stephenson said things to each other following the tussle, but the former won’t make much of it.
“Honestly, it was nothing,” Jeff Green told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin after Stephenson was called for a foul on him with 9.0 seconds left in the game. “I mean, I may have reacted because I’m not going to allow him to do what he did, but other than that, it’s nothing.”
Green was clearly understanding of the situation and did what was needed, as the 87-percent foul shooter sunk one before missing the next, leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers with a four-point lead — which would prove enough to even the series 2-2.
“He’s not going to fight. I’m not going to fight. It’s not worth it,” added Green. “I mean, if we wanted to fight, there’s a big-ass parking lot out there and we can fight. But at the end of the day, my job is to keep my composure, go to the free-throw line, knock one down and then move on. It’s not worth it to give that extra energy to him.”
Stephenson has been known to be the agitator, as he did earlier in the quarter, getting a technical foul called on LeBron James as he followed him into the timeout huddle.
With that experience in his back pocket, Green made the most of his business at the foul line and now lives to see another game against the rowdy Pacers.
