Midway through the third quarter yesterday during Game 1 of the Western
Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors,
Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard went up for a jump shot, landed on the foot of
Warriors center Zaza Pachulia, and Leonard sprained his already sore left ankle.
Leonard, who had 26 points and 8 rebounds at the time, left the game and would
not return. The Spurs had a 21-point lead at the time of the injury; they would
go on to lose the game, 113-111. Leonard is likely out for Game 2 and his
availability going forward in the series remains unknown.
While voices on social media suggested Pachulia tried to injure Leonard on the
play, both Pahulia and Leonard said after the game that it was not an
intentional play.
But speaking to reporters today in Oakland at San Antonio’s practice, Spurs
coach Gregg Popovich said he felt Pachulia’s play was “unnatural.”
“Ask David West, his current teammate, how things went when Zaza was playing for
Dallas, and he and David got into it. And then think about the history [Zaza
has] had, and what that means to a team…what happened last night. A totally
unnnatural closeout that the league has outlawed, years ago, and pays great
attention to. And Kawhi’s not there. And you want to know how we feel about it?
You want to know if that lessens our chances or not? We’re playing very possibly
the best team in the league—you know, we don’t know what’s going to happen in
the East. And 9.75 people out of 10 will figure the Warriors will beat the
Spurs. You know, we’ve had a pretty damn good season, we’ve played fairly well
in the Playoffs. I think we’re getting better. We were up 23 points in the third
quarter, against Golden State, and Kawhi goes down. Like that. And you want to
know if our chances are less, and you want to know how we feel? That’s how we
feel.”
The Spurs will look to bounce back without their star during Game 2 on Tuesday
(9 ET, ESPN).
