Even with the grueling seven-game series between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors over, no love is lost between the two sides -- specifically Draymond Green and Tari Eason.
Green had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Warriors' 103-89 Game 7 win on Sunday to advance to the Western Conference finals. Hours after his performance, Green responded to a year-old troll from the Rockets forward.
On March 27, 2024, the two sides were in a race for the final play-in spot in the West. Houston had just won its latest game, moving one game back of Golden State for tenth place in the conference. Eason posted a video on his Instagram story yelling: "Warriors come out to play."
After a fan account resurfaced the clip Sunday night, Green responded with his own troll.
The two got tangled up in Game 4 of the first round series, resulting in a flagrant foul on Green and a technical on Eason.
Eason took it a step further nearly two weeks after posting his video on Instagram. Missing an April 2024 Warriors-Rockets matchup due to an injury, he wore a shirt that read "Warriors come out to play." Golden State won the game, putting them in prime position to lock up at least the No. 10 seed.
Green's then-teammate Klay Thompson took offense to Eason's shirt.
"That's pretty lame, especially if you're not even playing," Thompson said. "It's one thing if you are out there playing, out there competing and you can back it up. But you're just going to be trolling from the sideline? What are you doing? The time we talk smack, we're out there competing. That's all I have to say about that."
Green appreciated the trash talk, but echoed Thompson's sentiment that if Eason is going to taunt, he should be on the court. This time around, the defensive player of the year kept his comments simple.
The Warriors will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday.
