Warriors vs. Grizzlies: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green Over Dirty Foul on Gary Payton II

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors to tie the series at one game apiece with a 106-101 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals round on Tuesday.

Despite vision problems in his left eye after being hit going for a rebound late in the third quarter, Ja Morant topped all scorers with 47 points, his playoff career-high.

Golden State's Stephen Curry led the way with 27 points on a night when Memphis' defense stopped the Warriors to just 18.4 % 3-point shooting. In the loss, Jordan Poole scored 20 points.

Kerr Accuses Brooks Of Breaking "The Code"

In his postgame press conference following the close match at the FedExForum, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expressed both his sympathy for Gary Payton II, who fractured his left elbow just three minutes into the loss and his clear frustration with Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks, who was ejected for a Flagrant two foul.

Per Yahoo! Sports, Brooks came up behind Payton as he attempted a dunk and smacked him across the head like a wrestling maneuver.

Brooks, according to Kerr, "broke the code" among NBA players. Per The Guardian, he termed Brooks' foul play "dirty," even though playoff basketball is intended to be physical.

"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."

Gary Payton II's Injury Hurts Golden State Badly

Warriors stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green agreed with Kerr.

Curry said the play was "kind of out of line in terms of a defenseless player going up on a layup."

"Obviously a tough way to start the game. Talk about Flagrant 2s, it was definitely one of those. Made the right call there. You feel bad for GP. This is his time to shine in a series like this, and a play like that knocks him out. It's tough," the Warriors' guard said.

Green gave a more intense remark, saying that Brooks hitting Payton with a clothesline "was a bulls--t foul."

Green received an elbow to the right eye from Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman Sr. less than 10 seconds following Payton's injury, forcing him to leave the game for a time and requiring stitches for a cut. He returned in the second quarter but played the rest of the game with one eye partially closed.

Green was ejected towards the conclusion of the first half of the Warriors' Game 1 win on Sunday for a Flagrant two penalty for an act that was significantly less harmful than what Brooks did to Payton.

Losing Payton is a significant blow to the Warriors. The Warriors depend primarily on his defense, cutting and scoring, and total intensity. CBS Sports reported Andre Iguodala would possibly return to take on some of those top perimeter duties, but Payton and what he provided on both ends will be missed.

Game 3 will take place in San Francisco on Saturday.

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NBA, NBA Playoffs, Steve Kerr, Golden state warriors, Memphis grizzlies, Stephen curry