Leonard hurt:
Pachulia defends play that injured Spurs’ forward.
Twitter was abuzz Sunday afternoon with a singular question: Did Zaza Pachulia do that on purpose?
San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard didn’t return after heading to the locker room in the third quarter with a left ankle injury. Pachulia, the Warriors’ starting center, slid his feet underneath Leonard just as he was coming down on a corner jumper. It inspired many to berate Pachulia over social media for what they viewed as a dirty play.
“That’s really stupid,” Pachulia said of the criticism. “I did my part. I had to challenge the shot. … I saw my teammate was behind the screen, and I had to challenge the shot. That’s what I did. I turned around for the rebound, and that was it. I hate anybody coming down with an injury. I’m an athlete, too, so I know how it feels.”
Leonard re-injured his ankle three days after he missed Game 6 and the last quarter and a half of Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals with a sprained left ankle. Asked during his postgame media availability Sunday for his take on the sequence with Pachulia, Leanord said had yet to watch the video.
“Did he step under it? Like, on purpose?” Leonard said. “No. He was contesting the shot, the shot clock was coming down. I’ll have to see the play.”
Leonard’s status for Game 2 on Tuesday remains up in the air. Iguodala hurt: Warriors forward Andre Iguodala was limited in Sunday’s win over the Spurs with left knee soreness, a team spokesman said.
Iguodala sat out the entire second half after acting head coach Mike Brown noticed that he was “a little hobbled.”
Iguodala reportedly will get an MRI exam Monday to determine the severity of his injury. Reporter hospitalized: ESPN reporter Shelley Smith suffered stroke symptoms in the Warriors’ locker room following the game and was moved to the training room, so the team’s medical staff could attend to her.
A regular at Golden State playoff games and practices in recent seasons, Smith said via text to the Associated Press that she was doing well Sunday night after undergoing tests at a hospital.