Dillon Brooks is charged with a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected.
Memphis forward Dillon Brooks was ejected for a flagrant foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton on Tuesday night in the opening minutes of Game 2 in their Western Conference semifinal.
After the game, the Warriors announced Payton had suffered a fractured left elbow and would undergo an MRI to further assess the injury.
Payton was going for a layup when Brooks chased him down and swung his arm, hitting the Warriors guard in the head. Payton went down and immediately grabbed at his left arm with 9:08 left in the first quarter. Officials reviewed the play and quickly ruled it a Flagrant 2, sending Brooks to the locker room.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was blunt about the play, calling it “dirty” during the nationally televised sideline interview between the first and second quarters.
After the game he added, “Dillon Brooks broke the code. He broke the code. That’s how I see it. You don’t hit a guy when he’s in midair, club him, and break his elbow.”
Steve Kerr calls Dillon Brooks’ Flagrant 2 foul on GP2 “dirty.”
“He broke the code” pic.twitter.com/KNI4GNPpsS
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 4, 2022
Told Kerr called Brooks’ flagrant foul dirty, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said he just trusted the officials to make the call.
“They reviewed it,” Jenkins said. “They made their judgment, obviously (Brooks) made contact to the head. So going to trust what the refs did.”
Brooks missed his first three shots after going 3-for-13 in Game 1. Brooks said after shootaround earlier Tuesday that he knew Memphis likely would’ve won the opener if he shot better.
Memphis’ top perimeter defender, Brooks’ job in Game 2 was to defend two-time NBA scoring champ Stephen Curry.
Payton missed the first free throw, made the second. Then he went to the locker room for X-rays on his left elbow before ultimately being ruled out for the rest of the game.
Inside the NBA discusses the Flagrant 2 foul by Dillion Brooks
Warriors forward Draymond Green went down shortly after Brooks’ ejection and went to the locker room after he appeared to be elbowed in the face. As Green, who was ejected just before halftime of Golden State’s win in Game 1, walked to the locker room during a timeout, he flashed the middle finger on each hand at the fans.
Green got stitches for a right eye laceration and returned for the start of the second quarter. After the game, Green said he expects to be fined for something that felt good in the moment. He was angry at being booed with blood running down his face after being elbowed in the eye.
“I could have had a concussion,” Green said. “So, if they’re going to be that nasty, I can be that nasty too. I’m assuming the cheers was because they know I’ll get fined. Great. I make $25 million a year, I should be just fine.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
