Ja Morant hinted after Game 3 between the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors that he felt Jordan Poole may have injured him intentionally. Klay Thompson did not think that was the case, but he seemed to get a kick out of the way Morant trolled Steve Kerr.
Morant was injured on a play in the second half of Game 3 where Poole appeared to grab the Grizzlies star’s knee and pull it outward while going for the ball (video here). Morant threw shade at Poole and Kerr after the game. He tweeted a screenshot of the play and wrote “broke the code,” which was a reference to what the Warriors coach said after Dillon Brooks injured Gary Payton II with a hard foul in Game 2.
Thompson was made aware of the “broke the code” tweet during his postgame press conference after Golden State’s blowout win in Game 3 on Saturday. He put his head down and laughed before defending Poole.
Klay Thompson laughs off notion that Jordan Poole “broke the code” on the play Ja Morant was allegedly injured. pic.twitter.com/Z2mwL8i9cu
— Joe Hughes (@VegasJoeHughes) May 8, 2022
“That’s definitely playoff talk,” Thompson said. “Me personally, I’ve been through a tough knee injury. I don’t think there’s any malicious intent from Jordan. I don’t even think he’s strong enough to affect someone’s knee. We’re not out there trying to hurt people or trying to club people in the back of the head on a fast break. We play the game the right way.”
Poole looked like he was making a legitimate play on the ball. The same could not be said for Brooks or Draymond Green with his flagrant foul in Game 1.
Golden State leads 2-1 in what has been an extremely chippy series. They will host the Warriors for Game 4 on Monday night.
