Aside from Kevin Durant’s dagger three-point shot that put the Warriors up with just 45 seconds remaining, the second-most important play in Game 3 may have been Andre Iguodala’s stripping of LeBron James, as he attempted a game-tying three with 12 seconds on the clock.
The poetic justice of Iguodala blocking LeBron, after James did the same to Andre in Game 7 of the Finals last year, made the play even more interesting, as did the fact that James’s foot made contact in an upwards kicking motion with Iguodala’s groin area on the play.
LeBron with the Draymond kick? ?pic.twitter.com/tM75DRPkhF
— Quintavious ♊️ (@Mr_BQC) June 8, 2017
It was the same type of kick that earned Draymond Green a Flagrant 1 in last year’s postseason, which played a part in his suspension for Game 5 of the Finals, after accumulating four flagrant-foul points capped off by an altercation with LeBron James.
Iguodala told ESPN on Thursday that he wasn’t even aware James kicked him on the play, but that didn’t stop him from making a sarcastic comment directed at the Cavaliers, who according to Zach Lowe, lobbied the league to suspend Green for two games after last year’s incident.
“You know what’s crazy? I did not feel it,” Iguodala told ESPN. “When I look back at it, I was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know this happened.’ Somebody told me about it. I didn’t know what happened, but I’m not going to be the one to say someone should not play, because you want everybody to be at full strength, right?”
After seeing the video, Iguodala didn’t think there was any intent on James’s part, saying that it happens all the time.
“What they say, Draymond did it how many times last year? … Throughout the whole season last year? They did a mix tape. It was like 100 [times]. Guys don’t even notice it,” Iguodala told ESPN. “So when it happens, guys are like [nothing]. Especially in that moment, adrenaline is flowing.”
Does he believe James should be issued a flagrant like Draymond was last year for the same thing?
“That’s not for me to decide, right?” Iguodala responded. “Right?”