Warriors' Brown compares Pachulia play to Aldridge undercutting Curry

Mike Brown thinks it's ironic for people to hate on Zaza Pachulia for doing something a San Antonio Spurs player did, too.

Many have criticized the Golden State Warriors center for undercutting Kawhi Leonard and causing him to re-injure his left ankle in Game 1.

When asked Monday about Pachulia sliding underneath Leonard as he was landing, Brown pointed to a similar play that also happened in the third quarter.

"Obviously, there were a chain of events that happened," said the Warriors assistant coach who's been acting as the head coach during Steve Kerr's absence.

"Right before that, Kawhi stepped on David Lee's foot and tweaked his ankle. Then that play happened, then ... a couple plays or a play later, Steph (Curry) shot the ball and LaMarcus Aldridge went to contest, and he went up underneath Steph. Steph avoided landing on his ankle by falling to the ground."

Here's the sequence in question:

Brown had asked the referees about the non-call, and relayed their message:

"I even asked two of the three officials. I said, 'Hey, that's the same call you just called on Zaza.' And both of them told me that the difference was Kawhi landed on Zaza's foot. Steph avoided landing on LaMarcus' foot. That's why they didn't call the foul or whatever they called on Zaza.

"It's the same play. Zaza's not a dirty player. LaMarcus is not a dirty player. It's a tough basketball play. You hate to see anybody get injured in a situation like that, but you go back and watch the film, they're both identical: two guys shooting the ball, two big guys going out to contest. They slide under the shooter a little bit, either one I don't think on purpose, and one happens to land on one's foot, the other one doesn't."

Part of the reason why folks were so upset about Pachulia's play is because it affected the outcome of the game, and likely the series. The Spurs were up by 23 points when Leonard departed in the third quarter, and went on to lose 113-111. The reigning back-to-back DPOY has already been ruled out for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

Related: Did Zaza disable Instagram comments after receiving threats?

Many have criticized Pachulia for the play, including Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who described it as "dangerous" and "unsportsmanlike."

Brown, who served as an assistant on Popovich's coaching staff from 2000-02, said Pop was "just protecting his guys." Pachulia said he didn't hurt Leonard on purpose.

Game 2 tips off Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.