Stephen Curry

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry said Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks was "kind of out of line" when he fouled Dubs guard Gary Payton II from behind and caused him to suffer a fractured elbow during Tuesday night's game.

The hard foul, which was called a flagrant-2 upon review and led to Brooks' ejection, happened just three minutes into Game 2 of the second-round playoff series.

"It was kind of out of line in terms of a defenseless player going up for the layup and taking a huge windup," Curry told reporters. "Everything bad that could have happened in that situation did. Knocked him out of the game."

The two-time NBA MVP also appeared to take a subtle shot at the officials' decision to eject teammate Draymond Green in Game 1 when comparing the two fouls.

"Talk about flagrant-2s...it was definitely one of those," Curry said.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who played 15 NBA seasons, added Brooks broke one of the sport's most important unwritten rules with the hard, high challenge from behind.

"I don't know if it was intentional, but it was dirty," Kerr said. "There is a code. This code that players follow where you never put a guy's season [or] career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in midair and clubbing him across the head, ultimately fracturing Gary's elbow. ... He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code."

The NBA hasn't announced whether Brooks will face any additional discipline.

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins didn't want to delve too much into the situation after his team's 106-101 win that leveled the series at one game apiece.

"They reviewed it," Jenkins said. "They made their judgment, obviously [Brooks] made contact to the head. So going to trust what the refs did."

Last week, Memphis' third-year coach was fined $15,000 for public criticism of officials during the team's first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As for the game itself, Ja Morant took over with 47 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals in 41 minutes. No other Grizzlies player scored more than 14 points.

Curry led the way for Golden State with 27 points, while Jordan Poole continued his breakout stretch with 20 points off the bench.

Game 3 of the physical series is set for Saturday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry isn't surprised that the NBA decided against downgrading Dubs forward Draymond Green's flagrant-2 foul Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies down to a flagrant-1.

"Shocking," Curry sarcastically responded when asked about it Monday, adding:

I don't know what the explanation was, it doesn't really matter in terms of how we feel about it. Good thing about what we do—and hopefully what Draymond can do—is just put it behind him, continue to be himself, play his game, impact the game like he knows how to do, but it's obviously not shocking.

Green was assessed a flagrant-2 and subsequently ejected from the game for this foul on Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke with just over one minute remaining in the first half of the Warriors' 117-116 win over Memphis in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

Green posted six points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 17 minutes before exiting.

As Madeline Kenney of the Mercury News noted, players who get four flagrant foul points in the postseason must serve an automatic one-game suspension. A flagrant-2 is worth two points, while a flagrant-1 is worth one point. That means another flagrant-2 would end up resulting in a suspension for Green.

The forward felt the effect of that point system when he was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The Warriors lost that game and eventually blew a 3-1 series lead against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Green clearly wasn't thrilled with the decision and said it was a "reputation thing."

He also spoke about the decision on his podcast:

Referee Kane Fitzgerald, who made the initial flagrant-2 call, provided his reasoning in a postgame pool report.

The Warriors ended up winning the game despite losing Green for the final 25 minutes. They are up 1-0 in the best-of-seven series and will play in Memphis for Game 2 on Tuesday evening at 9:30 p.m. ET.

In Sunday's Game 1 win against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors overcame the absence of forward Draymond Green after his first-half ejection.

After the victory, Green's teammate Stephen Curry expressed his disappointment in how he was thrown out of the game.

"Nobody wants to see that," Curry told reporters. "It's not good for the game."

Green's ejection occurred late in the second quarter when he was called for a flagrant-2 foul on Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke. Green appeared to hit Clarke in the face and also grabbed him by the jersey, seemingly to help him brace for the fall.

After the referees made the decision to end Green's night early, other NBA players and fans took to social media to rip the officials. Some also were unhappy with their overall handling of the game after a first half filled with foul calls.

With Green out of the game, the Warriors used a rotation of players in the frontcourt to help make up for his absence. Kevon Looney, Jonathan Kuminga and Otto Porter Jr. all gave Golden State some solid minutes in the second half. But the star of the game was emerging guard Jordan Poole.

The third-year sharpshooter had been removed from the starting lineup in favor of the more defensive-minded Gary Payton II to match him up against Grizzlies star Ja Morant. Poole started the second half and finished with a team-high 31 points off the bench, going 5-of-10 from three-point range.

The Warriors will try to keep the momentum going in Game 2 on Tuesday.

The Golden State Warriors held on to edge out the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 in Game 1 of their 2022 NBA playoff series.

Ja Morant had an opportunity to win the game for the Grizzlies but watched his layup attempt bounce off the glass as the buzzer sounded.

Stephen Curry wasn't at his best yet dropped 24 points and went 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. Jordan Poole was the Warriors' best performer as he poured in a team-high 31 points and flirted with a triple-double by adding nine assists and eight rebounds.

Poole has taken a big step forward in his third season, and his omission from the list of finalists for Most Improved Player certainly didn't sit well in the Bay Area. Even though individual awards are based on the regular season, the playoffs are making the Most Improved Player voting look even more puzzling in retrospect.

Because they occupy the same roster, comparisons between Poole and Curry are inevitable. While they aren't interchangeable stylistically, Poole might one day inherit the mantle Curry leaves behind.

If nothing else, this postseason could be a major coming-out party for Poole. The extent to which his confidence has grown was evident in his performance.

One of the game's biggest flash points came in the second quarter when Draymond Green was assessed a flagrant-2 foul on Brandon Clarke.

The official ruling didn't go down well on social media:

In practical terms, Golden State was left without its best perimeter defender for a majority of Sunday's contest. To earn a road win under those circumstances has to leave head coach Steve Kerr thrilled.

Looking at the bigger picture, Poole's breakout is the kind of thing that can put the Warriors over the top in the title race, too.

When he's not leading the Golden State Warriors in the NBA playoffs, Stephen Curry is looking to help make golf more accessible for underprivileged student-athletes.

Joel Beall of Golf Digest reported Curry's Underrated brand is joining with the American Junior Golf Association to host five tournaments for those who may not typically have access to the links.

"Less than 2 percent of golfers are people of color," Curry said. "This provides a platform for equity, access and opportunity for those who can't get their big break, but also who want to play head-to-head with some of the best players on the AJGA."

The eight-time All-Star and two-time MVP may be best known for his basketball skills, but Curry is no stranger to golf.

He played in high school while growing up in North Carolina and has also competed in amateur and celebrity tournaments. He was particularly impressive in 2018 when he shot a one-over 71 in the first round of the Ellie Mae Classic Web.com Tour competition.

Curry is looking to spread his love of the game and will fund all travel expenses and entrance fees for the participants in the tournaments. At the end of the tournament cycle, the 24 best boys and girls will compete in the Underrated Tour Championship held at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, with the winners taking home the Curry Cup.

This is not Curry's first venture in improving access to golf.

In 2019, he announced he would help fund and sponsor men's and women's golf teams at Howard University, which had previously disbanded its teams during the 1970s:         

As for the championship chase on the hardwood, Curry's Warriors are up 2-0 on the Denver Nuggets in their first-round playoff series. The series shifts to Denver for Thursday's Game 3, and the superstar has come off the bench thus far as he works his way back from a foot injury.

That didn't stop him from dropping 34 points in 23 minutes in Game 2 on Monday.     

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry made the decision to not start Saturday night in his return to the lineup.

"He said that watching [Klay] Thompson come back from his injuries—particularly the way the Warriors would allow Thompson to get 45 minutes of rest in real time before he returned to the floor—gave Curry insight into how to manage his minutes restriction. But it also gave the Warriors the flexibility they wanted within the limits of Curry's minute restriction," according to ESPN's Kendra Andrews.

Curry finished with 16 points in 22 minutes in his first game since suffering a sprained ligament and bone bruise in his left foot on March 16. Golden State earned a 123-107 win over the Denver Nuggets.

"I thought he looked great," Klay Thompson told reporters of Curry. "His shot was short in the first half, but that's to be expected when you come off a long layoff. But he's still Steph Curry. ... Just his gravity and the threat of him being out there is the best. It makes us a championship team."

Curry missed the last 12 games of the regular season. Prior to being sidelined, he was averaging 25.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.

The Warriors initially struggled without him, losing six of seven. But they eventually found a groove and finished the regular season with five consecutive wins.

In Curry's absence, third-year guard Jordan Poole took on more offensive responsibility. In the month of March, he averaged 25.4 points while shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.

His "splash brother," Thompson, also found his shooting stroke down the stretch of the regular season, ending the year with three straight games of at least 30 points.

The Golden State Warriors will likely have Stephen Curry on the court for Game 1 of their playoff series against the Denver Nuggets. 

Appearing on The Draymond Green Show, Curry said he is "very optimistic" about playing Saturday. 

Curry missed the final 12 games of the regular season with a sprained ligament and bone bruise in his left foot. He originally suffered the injury in the second quarter of Golden State's 110-88 loss to the Boston Celtics on March 16 when Marcus Smart rolled on his left leg going after a loose ball. 

Wednesday marked the Warriors' first day of practice this week leading up to the playoffs. Curry was a full participant, and there's no indication he was hobbled by the injury. 

Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters after practice that the team is going to reevaluate where Curry is at on Thursday.

"We'll reevaluate tomorrow, but I would say right now it's looking good," Kerr said. 

The Warriors went 6-6 over the final 12 games without Curry in the lineup. Since a Christmas Day win over the Phoenix Suns improved their record to 27-6, they have played just above .500 over the past 49 games (26-23). 

Injuries did play a significant role in Golden State's decline during this stretch. Curry and Green missed a combined 54 games. Klay Thompson hasn't played both nights of a back-to-back since returning to the lineup Jan. 9. 

As long as the Warriors' trio is healthy, they will have a chance to beat anyone in the Western Conference. Curry is the driving force behind the team's success. The two-time NBA MVP led the team with 25.5 points per game and ranked second on the team with 6.3 assists per game (behind Green's 7.0) in 64 starts this season.     

Longtime NBA head coach Mike D'Antoni divulged Tuesday that he badly wanted to select Stephen Curry in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft when he was the head coach of the New York Knicks.

Appearing on the Old Man & The Three podcast with former NBA guard JJ Redick and Tommy Alter (starting at the 54:30 mark), D'Antoni was asked which player he wished he had the opportunity to coach in the NBA, and he made it clear that Steph was at the top of his list.

D'Antoni thought back to the 2009 NBA draft, noting "we wanted [Curry] so bad, I could taste it."

The Knicks owned the No. 8 overall selection in 2009, but Curry went one pick ahead of them at No. 7 to the Golden State Warriors. New York had to settle for Arizona forward Jordan Hill, who averaged 7.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in 409 career regular-season games.

Meanwhile, Curry has established himself as one of the greatest players in NBA history with eight All-Star selections, three championships, two scoring titles and two NBA MVP awards in 13 seasons.

Curry is also the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history, making a record 3,117 three-point field goals during his illustrious career.

Given D'Antoni's penchant for coaching an uptempo, high-volume offensive style, he and Curry likely would have meshed well.

Adding to the agony of missing out on Curry was D'Antoni's story about how the Knicks had an opportunity to ensure they could select him. 

D'Antoni said the Knicks had a deal in place to move up to the No. 5 overall pick, but they would have had to trade a roster player in order to do so.

By D'Antoni's recollection, the front office felt they would land Curry at No. 8 regardless, so they decided against the trade and stood pat, which was a decision that came back to bite them.

While Curry helped lead the Warriors to five straight NBA Finals, the Knicks have reached the playoffs just four times since Curry entered the league and have only one playoff series win to their credit during that stretch.