Warriors lose Payton to early elbow injury
Warriors coach Steve Kerr and several players predicted Game 2 on Tuesday evening in Memphis would be more physical after winning 117-116 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday.
It didn't take long for Golden State to be proved correct, or for the Warriors to lose a key player to injury.
Just like Draymond Green in Game 1, Memphis' Dillon Brooks was ejected in Game 2 for a Flagrant 2 foul on guard Gary Payton II — that was, at least for a moment, initially ruled a common foul on the floor.
The Warriors were incensed by the play, which sent Payton to the trainers' room where he was ruled out for the remainder of the game with an elbow injury.
“That wasn't physical, that was dirty,” Kerr said in an interview with TNT reporter Jared Greenberg after the first quarter.
Brooks was given a flagrant 2 foul for winding up and hitting Payton in the head as the guard attempted a layup.
Payton hit the ground directly on his left (shooting) arm and was in visible pain for several minutes.
Though Payton initially shot the free throws and made one of two attempts, he was immediately substituted out and did not return.
Upon ruling Payton out, the Warriors announced he was undergoing X-rays.
A defensive standout, Payton was in the Golden State starting lineup for the second consecutive game to help contain Grizzlies star Ja Morant.
Golden State general manager Bob Myers appeared to deliver the injury news courtside to owner Joe Lacob, who expressed visible frustration.
The ejection came two days after Green was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul in Game 1, when he made contact with the Grizzlies'
Brandon Clarke in the face and was deemed to have pulled him to the ground. Green vehemently contested the decision, but swore he would not change who he is.
Green was also sent to the trainers' room early in Tuesday's game as he received stitches above his left eye and passed through concussion protocol after taking an elbow to the face from the Grizzlies' Xavier Tillman in the first quarter.
It was all part of a slow start for the Warriors, with Payton's free throw the only point Golden State scored in the first four minutes of Tuesday's game.
IGUODALA UPDATE >> Andre Iguodala is expected to be reevaluated today after a neck injury has sidelined him for the past week.
Iguodala, who's been out with a left cervical disk injury, missed the Warriors' series-ending Game 5 win against the Denver Nuggets as well as the first two games of the series against the Grizzlies.
The Warriors previously said Iguodala's injury is linked to the neck spasms that sidelined him for Game 2 of the first-round series.
Iguodala, 38, missed 19 games in the second half of the season with a lower back injury before returning for the final two weeks of the season. In three postseason games, he's averaging 1.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists, playing roughly 14 minutes off the bench.