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Morant doubtful for rest of playoffs with bone bruise in knee

Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Memphis Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant is unlikely to play in the rest of the postseason after an MRI revealed a bone bruise in his right knee.

Morant missed Memphis' narrow Game 4 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday after picking up the injury during Saturday's Game 3. Memphis already ruled him out for Wednesday's Game 5, a must-win contest for the Grizzlies to keep their season alive.

He's expected to make a full recovery.

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins and Morant suggested following Saturday's encounter that the Murray State product sustained the ailment in a play involving Warriors guard Jordan Poole in the fourth quarter.

Morant tweeted and then deleted a video of the incident with the caption "broke the code" - a reference to comments made by Golden State coach Steve Kerr regarding a foul by Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks that fractured the elbow of Gary Payton II in Game 2. However, any animosity between Morant and Poole appeared to have already subsided when the two exchanged a handshake prior to Game 4.

The 22-year-old high-flying Morant is averaging 38.3 points, 8.3 assists, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.0 steals while shooting 43.3% from deep in three games against the Warriors this postseason. In the Grizzlies' previous six-game series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Morant registered 21.5 points, 10.5 assists, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game to take Memphis to the second round for the first time in seven years.

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