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The Memphis Grizzlies suffered their second loss in the Western Conference semifinal series against the Golden State Warriors. The game ended in a 142-112 blowout victory for the Dub Nation led by another incredible Steph Curry performance where he scored 30 points. Whereas for the Grizzlies, Ja Morant led the charge as he dropped 34 points with seven assists.
But the 2022 MIP award winner suffered an unfortunate knee injury in the fourth quarter. At the 6:19 mark, Morant was seen dragging himself out of the court as he had suffered a knee injury. After the game, the Memphis coaches and players called out GSW guard Jordan Poole as one of the causes of their point guard’s injury. The reason behind these allegations was a specific play at the end of the third quarter, where Poole was seen yanking at Ja Morant’s knee.
Jordan Poole actually grabbed his knee and yanked it: Jenkins
“He's getting evaluated now. Nothing further. We just watched the replay,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. "He was going after a dribble and Jordan Poole actually grabbed his knee and yanked it, which kind of triggered whatever happened, so I'm actually going to be very curious to see what happens after that.”
I don't think there's any malicious intent: Thompson
GSW forward Klay Thompson also defended his teammate and called his action not strong enough to affect Morant’s knee. He said, “I've been through a tough knee injury, and I don't think there's any malicious intent from Jordan."
“I don't even think he's strong enough to affect somebody's knee. But we're not out there trying to hurt people or trying to club people in the back of the head on a fast break. We play the game the right way and I'm going to have his back."