Russell Westbrook, Paul George Call Zaza Pachulia Dirty After Dangerous Fall
Members of the Oklahoma City Thunder didn't hold back Saturday night when they were asked about Zaza Pachulia falling on Russell Westbrook's leg in the third quarter of their 112-80 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
"Obviously it was intentional. He fell over my leg," Westbrook told reporters. "He tried to hurt me."
The focus then turned to whether or not Westbrook believes Pachulia is a dirty player.
"Yeah," he said. "For sure."
Paul George backed up his teammate's claims.
"I'm going to take the Russ approach: Did you see what happened? You know Zaza, you know his history," he said, according to ESPN.com's Royce Young. "Nobody pushed him. He aimed his fall ... He's on the end of hurting a lot of guys."
George's point was also referenced last May by San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich after Pachulia failed to give Kawhi Leonard the necessary room to land on a closeout. Leonard was subsequently diagnosed with a sprained ankle and ruled out for the final three games of the Western Conference Finals.
"A two-step lead-with-your-foot closeout is not appropriate," Popovich said at the time, per NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole. "It's dangerous, it's unsportsmanlike, it's just not what anybody does to anybody else. And this particular individual (Pachulia) has a history with that kind of action.
"And because he's got this history, it can't just be, 'Oh, it was inadvertent. He didn't have intent. Who gives a damn about what his intent was? You ever hear of manslaughter?"
The Warriors and Thunder will meet again April 3 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
