Looney was the man his teammates counted on, leaned on. Looney took over the Green role as defensive stalwart, the man in the middle, and the distributor. After the game, head coach Steve Kerr talked about how the Warriors played with energy and intensity. Whether you love Green or not, whether you’re fed up with him or defend his passion, his teammates almost always have needed him, but now they don’t break down without him. In Thursday’s practice, “We was all locked in, and watched a lot of film and just the mood around the whole team that we was locked in and our focus grows even more.” “We had the right game plan for the first two games (but) we kept falling up short.” “We knew what we had to do to win the game,” Looney said. Green’s absence? Looney and pals rose above it. (Who, by the way, should have been suspended along with Green.) Twenty rebounds and nine assists, and strong defense against Sabonis. Quietly, relentlessly, Looney stood up when his teammates needed him. Kevon Looney was the poster guy for keeping the heart beating, in a game the Warriors desperately needed. The Warriors appreciate Green, but they know they have to stoke their own fire, regardless of what he might do. To be clear, Green’s teammates aren’t leaping off his bandwagon like many fans are in the wake of The Stomp. It was a bit sad that Green, in some ways the ultimate team leader, had to be reminded what was most important, and it wasn’t him. General manager Bob Myers said as much Tuesday, when, in the wake of The Stomp and Green’s one-game suspension, Myers said, “I told (Green) that when he shows up today, it’s got to be about the team.” If you’re the heartbeat of the Warriors, don’t you need to find a way to back off the refs and back off the dirty play when those things might hurt your team? As usual, Green was near the league lead in techs this season. It showed itself again with The Punch, and all season in his insistence on stacking up technical fouls to the detriment of his team. Kind of a pattern, going back to the 2016 NBA playoffs, when Green’s need to kick an opponent in the groin twice, and then his need to defend his pride against a LeBron James stepover took precedence over his team-leadership duties. It’s not that Green has been cut out of the team picture, or written out of the will, after getting suspended for Thursday night’s Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs. The Golden State Warriors are not Draymond Green’s team anymore. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle Show More Show Less Kevon Looney beats Domantas Sabonis to a rebound in the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Sacramento Kings in Game 3 at Chase Center on Thursday. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 4 of4 Kevon Looney is defended by Domantas Sabonis in the second half as the Golden State Warriors played the Sacramento Kings in Game 3 Thursday. Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 3 of4 Tony Avila holds a sign intended to depict Draymond Green before Thursday’s game between the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of4 Golden State Warriors’ Kevon Looney secures a loose ball against Sacramento Kings’ Kevin Huerter in the second quarter Thursday.
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