Pachulia's 'shameful' act causes uproar

Golden State Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia is copping plenty of heat for a game-changing play in his side's Game 1 victory over San Antonio Spurs.

Pachulia appeared to slide under the feet of Kawhi Leonard while the Spurs superstar was taking a shot in the third quarter of their Western Conference Finals clash.

That caused Leonard to fall down onto the foot of the Warriors centre and twist his already injured ankle.

Considering it was Leonard's first game back from an ankle injury suffered in their latest playoff series, many are suspecting Pachulia of an extremely dirty play.

It's also not the first time Pachulia has been caught seemingly attempting to injure Leonard.

However both players insisted their was no foul play involved, and Leonard's injury was merely an unfortunate accident.

"I had to challenge the shot," Pachulia said.

"Especially because it was a hand off situation and I saw my teammate was behind the screen and I had to challenge the shot."

"I hate anybody going down like that with an injury. I'm an athlete too, so I know how it feels and I don't wish that on anybody."

Meanwhile, Leonard refused to point fingers for his injury.

"Did he step under me on purpose? No," Leonard told reporters after the game.

"He was contesting the shot. The shot clock was coming down. I don't know. I have to see the play."

Whether on purpose or not, the play was without doubt crucial, leading Golden State to score 18-straight points and eventually win after being down by 20 points at halftime.