Clippers' Morris denies he deliberately tried to hurt Doncic

Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris denied he attempted to injure Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks by deliberately stepping on his ankle.

"I play this game with a level of respect for myself and other players," Morris tweeted late Tuesday night. "To think I would try to injure somebody is crazy to me. (Ten) years going against the best. I stand on morals and hard work. I compete and leave it out there every game."

In the third quarter of the Clippers' 154-111 Game 5 win, Morris was seen stepping on the back of Doncic's left foot with the ball out of bounds. It's the same foot the sophomore star had treated after he injured it in Game 3.

"Basketball has never been that serious to try to hurt somebody," Morris continued. "I'm not apologizing for shit because I know what I put into this game day in and day out. It was a mistake deal wit it. Competing is why I play."

Doncic wasn't so sure.

"I have my own thoughts," he said earlier during his postgame media availability. "I hope it wasn't intentional. Tell me what you think?"

He added that he didn't want to talk to Morris.

"I don't want to talk to him," Doncic said. "He's just saying a lot of bad stuff to me (during) the game ... I'm just going to move on. Like I said, everybody's going to have their opinion, and I just hope it wasn't intentional. If that was intentional, that's really bad."

Morris has been accused of dirty play in the past. Earlier this season while playing for the New York Knicks, he threw Joel Embiid to the floor, and during the preseason, he hit then-Wizards forward Justin Anderson in the head with a ball.

After a massive outing in Game 4, Doncic was held somewhat in check in Game 5, shooting 6-for-17 with 22 points. The Clippers can now wrap up the series on Thursday.