Grizzlies coach calls out Warriors’ Poole after Morant injured

LOS ANGELES: Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins called out Golden State’s Jordan Poole for ‘yanking’ Ja Morant’s knee after the Grizzlies star limped out of an NBA playoff loss to the Warriors on Saturday.

The Warriors held a comfortable double-digit lead in the fourth quarter when the play occurred, with Poole and teammate Andrew Wiggins pressuring Morant as he dribbled toward the lane and flailed as he tried to retain possession of the ball.

“We just watched the replay. 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 what happens after that,” Jenkins said after the game.

The Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks was suspended for one game after his flagrant foul in game two left Golden State’s Gary Payton II with a season-ending broken elbow.

It wasn’t immediately clear how serious Morant’s injury was. Morant tweeted a replay of the play on which he was hurt and wrote ‘broke the code’ – a reference to Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s comments about Brooks’s foul on Payton.

But Morant deleted the tweet shortly after posting it. Poole insisted there was nothing sinister in the play.

“It’s a basketball play. We doubled him and I went for the ball. Obviously, you don’t want to see anybody get hurt. I’m not even that type of player,” he said.

“I respect everybody. So obviously, hopefully, he gets better.” With Saturday’s win, the Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. They host game four on Monday.