Morant doubtful rest of postseason
Grizzlies All-Star guard Ja Morant is doubtful for the remainder of the NBA postseason after an MRI and further evaluation revealed a bone bruise in his injured right knee.
The Grizzlies said they expect him to make a full recovery.
The NBA’s most improved player had been averaging 38.3 points a game in the second-seeded Grizzlies’ Western Conference semifinal matchup with the third-seeded Warriors.
But Morant sat out the 101-98 Game 4 loss Monday with what the team said at the time was a sore knee.
The Grizzlies trail 3-1 in the series with Game 5 set for Wednesday night in Memphis.
Morant injured his knee on a play with the Warriors’ Jordan Poole that the teams debated during the Grizzlies’ 142-112 loss in Game 3.
Morant limped off with 6:19 remaining in the game after Poole grabbed at the knee on a play the Warriors guard said was simply an effort to strip the ball.
Afterward, Morant posted and later deleted a video of the play on his Twitter feed with the words “broke the code,” a reference that Warriors coach Steve Kerr had used five days earlier when Dillon Brooks’ hard foul in Game 2 sidelined Gary Payton II. Brooks was suspended one game.
Curry, Brown take charge: Their coach sidelined again as has happened several times before, even during the playoffs, Stephen Curry took charge and led the Warriors back.
Mike Brown grabbed the clipboard as acting head coach, just like he did during a title run five years ago with Steve Kerr out.
Curry converted eight free throws over the final 45.7 seconds on the way to 32 points, igniting the Warriors down the stretch on the way to the victory Monday night in San Francisco.
Curry also dished out eight assists as the Warriors rallied to win without Kerr after he tested positive for COVID-19 less than two hours before tipoff.
“Obviously there’s butterflies, because again you’re going into the game with a certain mindset and it’s a big game,” said Brown, who agreed Sunday to become the Kings new coach after this postseason run.
“To have that kind of thrown at you, you’ve got to switch gears because I know what my responsibilities are going in as Mike Brown the assistant coach, and it changes.”
But Brown has done this previously. He led the Warriors to an 11-0 record during the 2017 title run when Kerr was out dealing with debilitating symptoms from complications of back surgery two years earlier.
Kerr was placed in the league’s health and safety protocols. He didn’t travel to Memphis with the team Tuesday. Brown will coach Game 5 as planned.
Curry took charge Monday and now his Warriors are one win from a trip to the conference finals for the first time since 2019. He tied it at 90 on a fall-away baseline jumper with 3:25 to go and his two free throws with 45.7 seconds to go gave the Warriors a 94-93 lead, their first of the night.
The Warriors scored 39 points in the fourth, topping its 38 the entire first half.
Horford steps up for Celtics: Al Horford has played in more than two dozen postseason series in a 15-year NBA career but rarely has outwardly shown much emotion during all those appearances.
That all changed Monday night in Milwaukee. The 35-year-old Horford had just capped a 10-0 run by driving down the baseline, hitting a game-tying dunk and drawing a foul on two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Horford celebrated by letting out a scream and pumping his fists.
Horford’s big moment was the signature play in a fourth-quarter comeback that enabled the second-seeded Celtics to beat the third-seeded Bucks 116-108 and tie their Eastern Conference semifinals at 2-2.
“I usually just kind of go about my business,” said Horford, who finished with a career playoff-high 30 points. “I do get excited, but I guess you kind of pick your spots, your moments.
“This was an emotional game.”