Russell Westbrook accused Warriors center Zaza Pachulia of trying to hurt him on a play in the third quarter ot Golden State's 112-80 win over the Thunder Saturday night.
The play in question came in the third quarter, with the Thunder trailing 75-66. Westbrook put up a short floater and missed. He went for the rebound, but got tangled up with Nick Young and fell to the floor under the basket.
Pachulia, who had trailed the play, then fell directly on Westbrook's legs.
Following the game, Westbrook vented his frustration, and seemed incredulous when a reporter asked him what happened on the play.
“What do you mean what happened? What'd you think what happened? Don't lie, don't lie, you saw the instant replay four times,” Westbrook said. “What happened?
“Don't ask me dumb questions, man. Obviously it was intentional. So, don't ask me if it was intentional. Nobody touched him. He fell on my leg, tried to hurt me. But hey, that's how it goes.”
When asked about Westbrook's accusations, Pachulia refused comment.
“No comment. That’s childish. Come on,” he said. “I’m not responding to that.”
It doesn't help that Pachulia has a reputation for suspicious-looking plays. Recall last season, when he slid his foot under Kawhi Leonard as the Spurs star launched a jumper in the Western Conference Finals. Leonard landed on Pachulia's foot and aggravated his sprained ankle, causing him to miss the rest of the series.
And Westbrook and Pachulia have tangled before. After Pachulia knocked Westbrook to the floor in a game last season, the Thunder guard vowed, “I’m going to get his ass back."
Thunder forward Paul George agreed Pachulia's move appeared intentional.
"You know Zaza," George said. "You know his history. You know nobody pushed him. He aimed where he was gonna fall. That's Zaza making a Zaza play. He's on the end of hurting a lot of guys."
George isn't the only other player who felt that way. Celtics guard Kyrie Irving checked in via instagram, saying, "The league has to take a look at this, man. This s— is ridiculous."
