DeMarcus Cousins, Draymond Green get into it, Warriors sink Pelicans

Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green earned his first technical foul of the season Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

And it came against DeMarcus Cousins.

His latest sequence went down in the second quarter of the Warriors' 128-120 win at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Cousins and Green were exchanging pleasantries with 5:27 remaining in the second frame when Cousins got close to Green. Green reacted by lightly pushing away the Pelicans big man. He was immediately given a technical and tried to make his case to the referee, but he was not hearing Green's explanation.

"I love Draymond," Cousins told reporters after the game, according to ESPN. "Just two competitors, man. That's like my brother. It's all love at the end of the day...I thought I was getting in his head, and then he came right back at me. But we both looked foolish at the end of the day."

Cousins put in 35 points and had 13 rebounds in the loss. Green had 10 points, nine assists and five rebounds in the win.

Cousins led the NBA with 18 technical fouls in 2016.

He has finished in the top 2 in the category in every season since 2011. He has led the league or tied for the league lead in technical fouls in five of the last six seasons.

Green and Cousins also got into a scuffle during the last play of the game, when Cousins went up for a 3-point shot. Cousins jumped up and released the shot, while Green closed in. When Green came down from contesting the shot, Cousins caught Green with his foot, tripping him into the bench.

"I was just trying to get into [Cousins'] head," Green told reporters after the game, according to The Athletic. "That's it. He was playing well. I got him to pick up two fouls in 40 seconds, so I think it worked."

Green also talked about being a "brother" with Cousins and said their relationship is "for a lifetime," after the duo won a gold medal for Team USA at the Olympics.

The Warriors and Pelicans faceoff again at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25 at Oracle Arena.