Warriors respond to Gary Payton II damage: ‘It’s tough’

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Coach Steve Kerr accused Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks of breaking “the code” after he wounded Gary Payton II by attacking him from at the rear of as the Warriors guard tried a layup Wednesday evening through Video game 2 of the Western Meeting Semifinals.

Payton endured a fracture to his still left elbow and is scheduled to bear an MRI Thursday to ascertain the severity of the injury, the Warriors explained immediately after the Grizzlies beat them 106-101 in what was the most rigorous and bodily battles of the postseason so far.

Early into the to start with quarter, Brooks wound up and hit Payton in the head as the guard soared as a result of the air. The speak to induced Payton to crash onto his still left (taking pictures) arm.

As Payton laid on the courtroom in serious pain, the Warriors were being fuming and demanded the officials choose a different glimpse at the engage in. Stephen Curry went about to look at on Payton.

“GP’s tricky so when you see him in soreness like that, you know that it’s not anything light-weight,” Curry stated just after the game. “So it’s a tricky problem.”

Brooks ultimately was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected. Payton break up a pair of free of charge throws just before exiting the video game with 9:08 left in the opening quarter and heading to the locker home. He underwent an X-ray, which confirmed the fracture, and never returned.

Draymond Inexperienced, who gained a Flagrant 2 foul in Activity 1 on Sunday, said the engage in was a “bulls— foul.”

Kerr wasn’t guaranteed if it was intentional, but claimed he assumed it was a soiled enjoy.

“Playoff basketball is intended to be bodily. Everybody’s likely to compete, everybody’s likely to struggle for almost everything. But there is a code in this league, code that gamers abide by wherever you never set a guy’s time/occupation in jeopardy, like having anyone out in mid-air and clubbing them throughout the head and finally fracturing Gary’s elbow,” Kerr stated.

Curry known as Brooks’ foul “out of line,” noting that Payton was “defenseless” as he went up for a layup.

“Everything poor that could’ve took place in that predicament did,” Curry said. It “knocked him out for the recreation. We’ll see what takes place with his personal injury. Obviously, rough way to start out the video game.

“Talk about Flagrant 2s, it was unquestionably just one of those people, so [the referees] produced the right connect with there. But I come to feel negative for GP — like, this is his time to glow in a sequence like this and a play like that knocks him out, it’s rough.”