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Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor
Jenkins believes an unfair narrative has developed since Dillon
Brooks’ hard foul on the Golden State Warriors’ Gary Payton II in
Game 2 of the teams’ second-round playoff series on Tuesday.
“I look at my locker room and I
look at our culture and what we exude, we’re the furthest thing from
dirty,” Jenkins told reporters Thursday. “We’re
competitive, so I want that to be squashed pretty quick here.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called
Brooks’ play “dirty” and said it “broke the code” in the
aftermath of Tuesday’s game, but he made no reference to the Grizzlies
as a whole. Jenkins was also asked about the foul in question
following Thursday’s practice.
“It’s a tough play,” Jenkins
said. “We obviously wish Gary Payton II a speedy and healthy
recovery. It’s very unfortunate what happened there.”
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Dillon Brooks ejected after this hard foul on GPII 😳 <a href=”https://t.co/SOPdOJFXow”>pic.twitter.com/SOPdOJFXow</a>
The Memphis-Golden State series has
opened with a heavily physical tone. The Dubs’ Draymond Green was
ejected from Game 1 following a flagrant-2 foul on Brandon Clarke.
Brooks’ ejection from Game 2 was
followed by an additional one-game suspension from the NBA, which will cause him to miss Saturday’s Game 3. Payton is expected to miss around a month with an elbow injury suffered on the play, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
A total of 87 fouls have been called
through the first two contests of the series, which is tied at one
game apiece as it shifts to the Warriors’ Chase Center in San
Francisco.
Meanwhile, Kerr continued to express
frustration toward Brooks when asked Thursday how Golden State would
handle the physicality.
“Just play hard, battle for every
loose ball. Battle for every rebound. Compete every possession,” Kerr said, before adding: “And, you know, don’t risk a guy’s career
if he’s ahead of the play in transition. That’s our mantra.”
Those remarks will likely only add to
the already-high tensions between the sides.
Game 3 is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. ET
tipoff Saturday on ABC.
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