Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins told reporters on Sunday "there's a really good chance" superstar Ja Morant does not play in Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors.
Morant – who is averaging 38 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the three games against Golden State this series – suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter of Game 3 after an awkward tangle at mid-court where Jordan Poole appeared to grab and pull his knee.
After the game, Morant took to Twitter and claimed Poole "broke the code" in the incident – referencing Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who said Dillon Brooks "broke the code" with his flagrant two foul that resulted in Gary Payton's fractured elbow – before deleting the tweet.
Speaking to reporters, Jenkins said "there's probably a really good chance he won't play tomorrow".
The NBA has come out and said it will not be taking any action against Poole for his role in the incident. The Grizzlies trail 2-1, with Game 4 to take place at Golden State before returning to Memphis for Game 5.
Jordan Poole has refuted he "broke the code" with a play on Ja Morant that left the Memphis Grizzlies point guard an injury doubt in the Golden State Warriors 142-112 Game 3 win.
Morant posted 34 points, plus three rebounds and seven assists, but limped off with five to go in the last quarter after the Warriors man grabbed his knee in a trap near half-court.
The Warriors surged on to a blowout victory in the end, resulting in them taking a 2-1 lead in the series after they were edged out in Game 2.
That led to a fiery post-game response from the Grizzlies star, who tweeted and then deleted a video claiming that Poole "broke the code" in intentionally injuring him.
The Grizzlies are yet to formally confirm the extent of Morant's injury - but speaking afterwards, Poole knocked back suggestions his play was intended to harm his opponent.
"It was a basketball play when we doubled him," Poole said. "And I hit the ball and I was going for the ball.
"I mean, obviously, you don't want to see anybody get hurt. I'm not even that type of player. I respect everybody.
"Hopefully he gets better and, you know, we can see him out there next game. I don't even play like that for real. That's not my type of game."
Poole's grab is the latest flashpoint in a fiery series, with Memphis forward Dillon Brooks sitting out Game 3 after hitting Gary Payton II in the head, resulting in a fractured elbow.
Memphis boss Taylor Jenkins skirted an official comment on whether Poole's move on his player was intentional, instead saying: "We just watched the replay.
"He was going after a dribble and Jordan Poole actually grabbed his knee and yanked it, which kind of triggered whatever happened.
"I'm actually going to be very curious to see what happens after that. I don't know what goes through you guys' head.
"No, I didn't say that it went on purpose. I said the play happened. There was a grab. I'm just curious what happened."
The two teams meet for Game 4 on Monday at Chase Center, San Francisco once more, with the Warriors looking to go 3-1 up.
The Milwaukee Bucks escaped with a win in Game 3 against the Boston Celtics, claiming a 103-101 victory after a frantic final exchange on Saturday.
Boston trailed 103-100 when Marcus Smart was fouled by Jrue Holiday just before attempting a three-pointer to tie the game with 4.6 seconds remaining.
After making the first free-throw from a non-shooting foul, Smart intentionally missed the second attempt and got the rebound, but he missed his putback attempt.
Robert Williams flew in but the ball bounced off the glass, before Horford picked up the rebound, missed his putback attempt, got his own rebound and banked it in, but his final shot came just after the buzzer sounded, denying overtime.
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a massive performance on the other end, coming up with 42 points on 16-of-30 shooting, 12 rebounds and eight assists, as well as two steals and blocks.
Dubs defend home court after slow start
The Golden State Warriors blew the Memphis Grizzlies out despite a slow start and poor shooting night from Stephen Curry beyond the arc, taking Game 3 out 142-112.
The Warriors coughed up seven turnovers as the Grizzlies created a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but once the home side took care of the ball, their shooting facilitated a comprehensive turnaround.
Despite two-of-eight from Stephen Curry beyond the perimeter, he and Jordan Poole were able to penetrate off the dribble and get the team great looks. The Dubs went 53-of-84 for the night with an extraordinary true shooting rate of 76.1 per cent.
Curry still finished with an even 50 per cent from the floor and hit all 14 free-throw attempts, getting 30 points and six assists. Poole contributed 27 points off the bench, while the team outside of Curry went 17-of-24 from the perimeter.
Ja Morant limped off late following a knee injury, finishing the night with 34 points and seven assists.
Luka Doncic felt it was all about "energy, man" as the Dallas Mavericks put in a much-improved defensive showing to claw their way back into their Western Conference semi-finals series against the Phoenix Suns.
Speaking after the Game 2 defeat to the top-seeded Suns, superstar Doncic described the Mavs' second-half defensive showing as "horrible".
But it was a much different story for a desperate Dallas side on Friday as Doncic and Jalen Brunson starred in a 103-94 win to trim the deficit to 2-1.
Doncic finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and two steals, while Brunson put up a game-high 28 points – six more than he managed over the first two games.
After helping to spoil Chris Paul's 37th birthday and keep the Suns at bay, Doncic explained why he felt the Mavs were more on it from a defensive standpoint.
"Energy, man. The crowd gets you going. The energy and the execution were better. That's what we've got to do every game," he said, in quotes reported by ESPN.
"I knew I had to do better. I knew I could do better. I think I made a big jump on defense this year. The second half (of Game 2) was horrible by me, and I knew I had to get back to my team and play better defense.
"We're going to believe until the end. Somebody's got to get to four wins, and no matter if you're down or you're up, you've got to believe."
Head coach Jason Kidd said after the Game 1 defeat that Doncic did not get enough support from his team-mates. He had a different view this time around.
"Everybody joined the party," Kidd said.
"They helped out on both ends. Luka was great defensively. He participated, too. It puts us in a different position when that happens."
For Brunson, the target now is maintaining that same standard when Dallas aim to tie things up in Game 4 on Sunday.
"I found a way to bounce back tonight," Brunson said.
"I just can’t be satisfied with this. Sunday’s going to be another brutal game. I have to bring the same energy, the same intensity, the same everything."
Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid highlighted the fact that he does not need to be able to see perfectly to be a game-changer defensively, and declared he believes his team can win it all after pulling their series against the Miami Heat back to a 2-1 deficit.
Embiid struggled with his vision in his protective mask, but it was more than enough to help the 76ers to a 99-79 win in Game 3.
In his first game back after suffering a fractured orbital and a concussion as a result of a Pascal Siakam elbow in the last game of Philadelphia's series against the Toronto Raptors, he had 18 points and 11 rebounds, but transformed his side defensively.
It was the lowest total the 76ers have held an opponent to since beating the San Antonio Spurs 97-78 in January 2018.
Speaking to the post-game media, Embiid said it was a struggle to get ready for Game 3, but highlighted that he felt he did not need to be at 100 per cent to change the game defensively.
"It was a struggle," he said. "Really just because of the concussion, and dealing with a bunch of symptoms – but I'm glad it went away, and I'm glad I'm back.
"I didn't think I had a lot of energy, honestly. I was really trying to get through it, and just use my presence out there as a decoy.
"I feel like what I pride myself on is defensively, and that's where my presence is really felt – on the defensive end. That's one of the main reasons I felt like I could have a huge impact.
"Just being to the ball even more, not allowing easy catches, and obviously being aggressive on their main scorers.
"Tyler [Herro] – I thought we did a better job on him – obviously Jimmy [Butler] got going, and that's my fault, there were a couple times where I wasn't protecting the rim, so we definitely need to do a better job on him.
"But their main scorers, we were just more aggressive, whether it was trapping the ball, or getting it out of their hands and trying to make everyone else beat us."
Touching on the first two games of the series where he did not make the trip to Miami, Embiid said it was tough to watch, but that he believes this Philly team can win the championship.
"It was very annoying – just watching," he said. "Obviously we didn't make shots, but we made a lot of mistakes, whether it was offensive rebounding, or turnovers.
"Their big fella, Bam [Adebayo], he was dominating. I was really p****d off watching another big man play well against my team.
"I think my main goal is that I really want to win, and I feel we have a big chance to win it all.
"Obviously we have to stay healthy, and we all gotta play well at the same time – we all gotta be damn near perfect.
"So, to me, that's what I signed up for, and whatever it's going to take me to win, that's what I'm going to do."
The mask itself was a hindrance, according to the seven-foot-two Cameroonian, but he said it was not going to make a difference if he sat out one or two more games.
"I air-balled a wide open shot, so that's the answer [to the difficulty of playing in a mask]," he said.
"But it's whatever, it's just the circumstances. Four years ago I really complained about it, but it's a little different this year because I don't have to wear goggles – those were really annoying.
"It's still a big adjustment, but like I said, it really starts on defense, and on defense I don't need to see everything. On offense you need to see to knock down shots, but it's fine.
"These fractures are not going to heal for a couple weeks, so it's not going to change too much if I play now or Game 4, I just need to protect it as much as possible."
It was a defensive showcase by the Philadelphia 76ers in their 99-79 home win in Game 3 of their series against the Miami Heat.
With their season essentially on the line – as no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit – the 76ers were energised on the defensive end with the return of star Joel Embiid, who was wearing a protective mask to protect his fractured orbital bone.
It was the first time since January 2018 that the 76ers have held an opposing team under 80 points, when they beat the San Antonio Spurs 97-78.
In an incredibly low-scoring first half, the 76ers reached half-time with a 41-34 lead as James Harden carried the early offensive load, before cooling off in the second half to finish on 17 points (four-of-11 shooting) with eight rebounds and six assists.
Embiid was solid in his return, commanding plenty of defensive attention to open up lanes for his teammates and putting in 18 points (five-of-12 shooting, eight-of-10 free throws) with 11 rebounds.
The real star of the show for the home side was Danny Green, who hit seven of his first eight three-point attempts for his equal team-high 21 points, sharing that figure with Tyrese Maxey, who had all of his 21 points in the second half.
Jimmy Butler was the only Miami starter to get into double figures, scoring a game-high 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting, while Tyler Herro was a disappointing five-of-15 from the field for his 14 points.
Game 4 will remain in Philadelphia before heading back to Miami for Game 5.
Mavericks make it a series
The Dallas Mavericks injected some life into their series against the Phoenix Suns, taking Game 3 103-94 at home to trail 2-1.
In an inspired defensive showing, Dallas held the Suns to quarter totals of 20, 24, 23 and 27, slowing the game down to a crawling pace at times as both sides hunted for the exact looks they were after.
Both teams shot a respectable 44 per cent from the field, while the Suns were more efficient from long range, shooting it at 46 per cent compared to the Mavericks' 33 per cent, but the hosts forced 17 turnovers while committing just eight.
While the Mavs were not at their best from deep, despite shooters Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith combining for eight makes behind the arc, they compensated by dominating the interior, out-scoring the Suns 50-32 in the paint.
Luka Doncic was at his best with 26 points (11-of-25 shooting), adding 13 rebounds and nine assists, but it was Jalen Brunson who lifted the Mavericks to the victory.
After scoring a combined 22 points from 32 per cent shooting in Game 1 and Game 2, Brunson erupted for a game-high 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting, with five assists and four rebounds.
Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid will return from injury for Game 3 against the Miami Heat.
Embiid had been sidelined since a stray Pascal Siakam elbow in the last game of Philadelphia's first-round series against the Toronto Raptors fractured his orbital bone, meaning he will play in a protective mask.
He averaged a career-high 30.6 points per game this season along with 11.7 rebounds and a career-high 4.2 assists, and shot over 50 per cent from the field against the Raptors.
The 76ers had a record of 6-8 in the 14 regular season contests Embiid missed, and also dropped the first two games of their current series against Miami as he did not travel with the team for the Heat's opening home fixtures.
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