For the second straight game to start the tightly-contested series between the Grizzlies and Warriors, a hard foul led to an ejection. Instead of Warriors forward Draymond Green, this time it was Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks.
With less than three minutes into the first quarter, Green was pushing the ball up the court in transition when he made pass in stride to Gary Payton II, who attempted to go up for a layup.
In the process, Brooks swiped across Payton’s head while he was in the air. As a result, Payton fell hard to the ground awkwardly, holding his left elbow afterward. The Warriors later announced that Payton would not return to the game with an elbow injury.
Officials announced that Brooks received a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game. After the foul and ejection, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reportedly screamed at the Grizzlies’ bench, saying “Get the f— out of here,” according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.
After shooting a pair of free throws, Payton exited the game and went to the locker room where he received an X-ray on his left elbow.
Brooks’s ejection comes two days after Green was given a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from Game 1 against the Grizzlies.
Payton II has enjoyed a breakout season with Golden State, averaging 7.1 points per game in 71 contests, by far the most in any one season of his six-year career. He started the Warriors’ Game 1 win over Memphis and added eight points on four-of-five from the field.
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