Grizzlies' Brooks ejected for flagrant 2, Warriors' Payton suffers elbow fracture
Memphis Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks was ejected less than three minutes into his team's 106-101 Game 2 victory after committing a flagrant-2 foul on Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II.
Brooks made contact with Payton's head as the latter went up for a transition layup, resulting in a hard fall for Payton.
Officials assessed Brooks a flagrant-2 foul upon further review.
After review, Dillon Brooks has been assessed a Flagrant 2 foul for this play on Gary Payton. His night is over.#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/2WQLOL5qJn
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 4, 2022
Following the matchup, the Warriors announced that Payton fractured his left elbow on the play. He'll undergo an MRI Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury.
"I don't know if it was intentional, but it was dirty," Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said postgame, courtesy of Shayna Rubin of The Mercury News. "He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code."
Payton subsequently shot his free throws before checking out of the contest for good.
Brooks' sudden departure left Memphis without one of its top perimeter stoppers; in Sunday's Game 1, the Canadian held Stephen Curry to three points on 0-of-7 shooting as his primary defender.
Despite being without Brooks for all but three minutes in Game 2, though, Memphis narrowly held off the Warriors and tied the series at 1-1.
Officiating has been a hot topic throughout the postseason. Warriors star Draymond Green was tossed from Game 1 for a flagrant-2 foul on Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke.