The Golden State Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, winning 142-112.
But the result was hardly the story after that. Memphis superstar Ja Morant limped off the court at the end of the game, and repetitions of tangle for the ball with Jordan Poole immediately sparked a heated debate over whether Poole had played a dirty game when he removed the ball and hit Morant’s knee.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said Poole had “pulled” Morant’s knee and he wasn’t sure if it was intentional. Morant tweeted and then deleted a duplicate that further hinted that Poole was doing his best to hurt Memphis’ best player.
Meanwhile, Warriors players were not interested in lawsuits over whether Poole had broken an unwritten rule. Stephen Curry was perhaps the strongest in his press after the match. “It’s not a joke that Ja was hurt,” he said. “But the rest is BS.” He added, “Do you know the term hot stove contact? That’s the feeling. Keep moving.”
In the press, Clay Thompson – who laughed when he was informed of Morant’s tweet “broke the code” – also made it clear that he will not have fun with what he believes were created by Grizzlies. “I had a severe knee injury,” he told reporters. “Jordan had no malicious intentions. … He is not here to push people in the back of the head during quick breaks. We play the game the right way. ”
Draymond Green, usually the Dubs’ most outspoken player, actually took the most diplomatic approach, although he noted that he did not think anything bad had happened. “It was as if my knees had been hit before [Poole] it even reached, ”Green said. When asked about Morant’s already deleted tweet, Green actually objected: “I’m not going to sit here and fight. We have a basketball game to try to win on Monday. “
They really do. Game 4 is scheduled for Monday at the Chase Center at 7 p.m.
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