WATCH: Payton Pritchard grabs Jimmy Butler’s knee prior to Game 3 exit
Former Oregon star and current Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard is now the subject of the latest knee-grabbing scandal in the NBA playoffs. After Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler exited Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals with right knee inflammation, video surfaced of an incident involving the two players and the potential injury.
After falling down due to contact with Jimmy Butler, Payton Pritchard collides with the right knee before reaching for the upper leg of his opponent while standing up. Butler attempts to dribble away but falls down after the pull causes his foot to miss the floor stepping through.
Although Butler missed the entire second half due to the knee problem, his team picked up the slack and held onto the lead. The Heat now hold a 2-1 series lead as Game 4 in Boston approaches on Monday night.
This is the second time a player has drawn online criticism for grabbing at the knee of an opponent this postseason, with the first involving Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. The latter missed the rest of the series as a result of the injury he and the team medical staff claim resulted from that play.
More injuries in Celtics-Heat series
Boston Celtics star and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart also left Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals with an ankle injury, but only for a moment.
Smart went for a rebound early in the second half and landed awkwardly around Kyle Lowry, rolling his ankle as Lowry rolled on top of his ankle too. Smart immediately began screaming in pain on the court, eventually leaving with the help of medical staff and appearing to put some weight on his foot as they headed to the locker room.
Less than a few minutes of game time after leaving the game, Smart was shown on the arena’s screens jogging in the tunnels as he prepared to come back onto the court. His injury was ruled an ankle sprain, but only served to scare the Boston crowd as he came back to a standing ovation and drained a three-point shot to pull Boston to within 10 points of Miami.