OAKLAND, Calif.—The coaches can downplay a rivalry all they want.

The signs of dislike and fiery competition are right there on the court, with the players involved.

An all-California Christmas nightcap got heated in a hurry. Flailing arms, swinging elbows, even tussling that spilled into the postgame exit with Stephen Jackson mouthing off in the middle of it all.

Golden State's Draymond Green was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul after the third quarter of the Warriors' 105-103 win Wednesday night for throwing an elbow on a play that drew a technical on Blake Griffin, then Griffin followed him to the locker room with 10:43 remaining when he drew his second technical.

The thing is: The Clippers questioned whether Golden State did all it could to ignite Griffin and get him thrown out.

If this isn't a rivalry, it's darn close.

"I still believe this isn't a rivalry because neither one of us have done anything," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "It was two teams playing with an edge competing against each other."

That's not quite how Griffin and Clippers coach Doc Rivers saw it.




Klay Thompson blocked a shot by Chris Paul with 1 second left then contested Jamal Crawford's 3-pointer that fell short at the final buzzer as the Warriors rallied in the second half.

Griffin was ejected for his second technical after scuffling with Andrew Bogut, following Green to the showers.



When the game ended, players tangled near the tunnel to the Clippers' locker room and security personnel stepped in—and former Warriors swingman Jackson could be seen screaming in the fray.





Bogut added 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Both Rivers and Jackson said before the game this can't truly be a rivalry until both teams are consistent contenders year after year.

It's certainly getting testy enough to be close to such status. And they see each other twice more. The Clippers come back Jan. 30.








"We were kicking their butts and they went to something else, to be honest," Rivers said of triggering the second technical on Griffin. "But that's fine. We have to have better composure and just keep playing. ... I thought in the basketball part of it we were showing them pretty well. All the other stuff worked in their favor, so it's a smart thing for them to do."