SAN FRANCISCO – Rockets forward Dillon Brooks took a verbal jab at Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green the day before the two teams met for Game 3 of their opening-round Western Conference playoff series at Chase Center.

Saturday, it was Jalen Green’s turn.

Continuing what’s been an at-times testy series between the Warriors and Rockets, Draymond Green and Jalen Green, just moments after Golden State earned a 104-93 win to take a 2-1 series lead thanks to Steph Curry’s 36 points, exchanged words near midcourt. The two were separated without incident.

Asked after the game what was discussed, Jalen Green, the Merced native who was playing in his first NBA road playoff game, said, “Just talking. You know, Steph had a good game. That’s the reason they won. It was just talking.

“(Draymond) can’t really do much of anything else. Talking is his only way.”

Draymond Green was 3-for-11 from the floor in Game 3 but also added eight rebounds and four assists in the potentially pivotal win. In the first two games, Green was a combined 4-for-11 with 11 rebounds and six steals.

Asked postgame if he commented on Jalen Green’s painted fingernails and if the younger Green took umbrage with that, Draymond Green said, “I’m not sure what he took to. But it was a good win for us.”

The Warriors focused on slowing down Jalen Green, and the fourth-year player went 4-for-11 on Saturday with six rebounds and five assists. He had a combined 45 points in the first two games.

Rockets guard Fred VanVleet got between the two Greens right after the game. Asked what prompted the exchange between his teammate and the older Green, a four-time World Champion and finalist for the 2024-25 NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, the veteran VanVleet stayed out of the mix.

“Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t see nothing, don’t know nothing,” Vanvleet said. “On to the next.”

During Game 2, Rockets guard and East Bay native Amen Thompson unintentionally took out the legs of Jimmy Butler, causing the Warriors forward to leave the game after a hard fall. Butler, still on the mend, did not play in Saturday’s Game 3.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t feel Thompson’s play was dirty. When asked about the incident, Brooks focused on Draymond Green.

“No, I think the dirty player is Draymond (Green), giving him a little push as regular basketball players do,” Brooks said. “And Jimmy’s fighting in the air for a rebound, and stuff happens. Amen’s not a dirty player. He has (nothing) to do with being a dirty player.”

Your response, Draymond?

“I don’t have one,” he said Saturday night.

The Rockets want to do a lot of things differently on Monday when they try to even the series before going back home for Game 5. That includes having better communication on defense and making other players, besides Curry, beat them.

The Rockets also feel the Warriors want to get in the heads of their less experienced players. VanVleet, who helped the Toronto Raptors beat the Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals, wants his teammates to remain level-headed and stay focused on winning.

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“It’s been a topic of conversation,” said regarding the Warriors’ perceived head games. “Obviously, we know what that brings to the game. But I would say we’ve got some loose cannons on our team, too.

“We deal with it all year. We go at each other in practice. It’s a part of the game. Some guys like to trash-talk. Some guys don’t really do it, but as long as we focus on basketball, we execute at a high level, and it doesn’t take away from what we’re trying to do and compete, I think the ultimate trash talk is to get the win. That’s the most important thing, to get the win, and to win this series.

“We’re not going to back down from anybody. I think that’s understood by now. And the rest is, can we execute at a high enough level to get wins.”