Grizzlies’ Brooks suspended 1 game for flagrant foul

Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks was suspended one game as punishment for his hard foul on Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II, the NBA announced Thursday.

Brooks, 26, will be sidelined for Saturday’s Game 3 in San Francisco with the second-round series between the Grizzlies and Warriors tied at one game apiece.

Less than three minutes into the Grizzlies’ 106-101 Game 2 victory Tuesday, Brooks was assessed a flagrant-two and ejected for a blow to Payton’s head during a transition play. The force of Brooks’s foul sent Payton crashing to the court, and X-rays subsequently revealed that the guard had fractured his left elbow. The Warriors announced Thursday that an MRI revealed some ligament and muscle damage, and that Payton will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Warriors Coach Steve Kerr and several players took exception to Brooks’ foul, noting that it had the potential to injure Payton, the son of Hall of Famer Gary Payton, and alter his career prospects. The 29year-old guard has played for four NBA teams and spent time in the G League since going undrafted out of Oregon State in 2016.

ELSEWHERE

Celtics: Boston guard

Marcus Smart says there’s a “strong likelihood” he’ll play Saturday after missing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal with a bruised right thigh. The series is tied 1-1 as it heads back to Milwaukee after the Celtics earned a 109-86 victory in Game 2.

Nets: Ben Simmons underwent what was determined to be a successful back surgery in Los Angeles on Thursday. The Brooklyn Nets are hoping that he is fully recovered before the start of training camp this fall. The procedure Simmons had was called a microdiscectomy, in which a small fragment of a herniated disc is removed to relieve pressure on the spinal column.

LATE WEDNESDAY

Suns 129, Mavericks 109: Chris Paul scored 14 of his 28 points in another spectacular fourth quarter and host Phoenix beat Dallas late Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Game 3 is Friday night in Dallas.