Dillon Brooks was ejected from Game three of the Memphis Grizzlies’ first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers after striking James in the groin 17 seconds into the second half.
Brooks committed the flagrant foul while guarding James near midcourt, and James went down in obvious pain. Officials tossed Brooks after a brief video review, leading to a raucous celebration in the Los Angeles stands for the latest misfortune of the reviled Grizzlies forward.
Brooks declined to speak to reporters after the game. Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins only commented tersely on the incident: “Officials made a call.”
James didn’t want to weigh in on whether Brooks deserved a suspension. He didn’t want to discuss Brooks at all after scoring 25 points in the 111-101 victory, parrying several questions about the conflict.
“I don’t know. I’m not on the (disciplinary) committee,” James said. “If he’s out of the line-up, he’s out of the line-up, and we’ve got to prepare.”
Brooks was booed every time he touched the ball because of his behaviour during and after Game two in Memphis. Most notably, the 27-year-old Brooks called the 38-year-old James “old” while dismissing the impact of the top scorer in NBA history.
James declined to respond to Brooks’ comments either Friday or Saturday after the win. James and Brooks talked to each other on the court before Game three, but James declined to say what they discussed.
“At the end of the day, I think my resume, what I’ve done for this league, speaks for itself,” James said. “I don’t get caught up in any comments like that. My focus is to my teammates and to figure out how we can beat the Memphis Grizzlies, not how I can beat another player.”
Brooks and James were matched up again in Saturday’s contest, and James was largely dominating until Brooks’ ejection.
James scored 12 points in the first half while the Lakers went up by 29 points early and eventually built a 53-37 half-time lead. Brooks struggled mightily, scoring just seven points on 3-for-13 shooting and missing four of his five three-point attempts before getting tossed.
Memphis’ Desmond Bane thought Brooks’ blow was an accident.
“From what I could see, it looked like incidental contact,” Bane said. “Dillon is a physical defender, and it almost looked like from live action that LeBron had made a crossover move and Dillon took a stab at the ball and accidentally caught him in the wrong position”.
“His spirits are high. He was remorseful. He’s competing. He’s into the game. I didn’t think it was anything malicious. James Harden did something similar and didn’t get any type of suspension, so I think DB should be able to play the next game for sure.”
Harden was ejected from Philadelphia’s victory in Game three last Thursday for a fairly similar blow to the groin of Brooklyn’s Royce O’Neal.
Brooks led the NBA in technical fouls this season, committing 18. He served two one-game suspensions for his behaviour.
