SAN FRANCISCO -- Draymond Green came off the bench in the Golden State Warriors' 125-126 Game 4 win against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon, snapping a streak of 128 consecutive starts in the playoffs.
Green was inactive in Game 3 after the league suspended him for stomping on Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis.
"There are definitely more things to consider today, given our performance the other night," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said pregame. "So we definitely have some decisions to make rotationally."
Jordan Poole, who started Game 3, retained that position. Green checked into the game for the first time with 6:38 left in the first quarter and started the second half for Poole. He finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in 31 minutes.
The decision stemmed from the Warriors' desire to split up their non-shooters and separate Green and Kevon Looney, sources told ESPN. Golden State liked the spacing it played with in Game 3 while Green was suspended. The Warriors also played one of their best defensive games of the series.
The team also had discussions with Green about needing to simplify and slow down the game after the first two games of the series were littered with turnovers, sources told ESPN.
After watching how well the Warriors played, Green was receptive to coming off the bench, the sources said.
Green has come off the bench only two times -- both last season -- since Steve Kerr was hired as the head coach in the 2014-15 season.