Dillon Brooks Blames Lakers' Vanderbilt for Ejection: 'He Took It a Little Too Far' | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Houston Rockets wing Dillon Brooks implied Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt deserved his ejection during the Rockets' 135-119 win over the Lakers on Monday.
Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Brooks pushed Vanderbilt in the back while he was airborne on a dunk attempt early in the second quarter. Vanderbilt responded by shoving Brooks in the chest with his forearm shortly thereafter, resulting in a technical foul being called.
Then, Vanderbilt poked Brooks in the side of the head with his finger, resulting in a second technical foul and an ejection. A Lakers player told McMenamin that Brooks called Vanderbilt a "p---y" during the scuffle.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportJarred Vanderbilt was ejected after getting into it with Dillon Brooks <a href="">
After the game, Brooks told reporters: "I feel like he may feel like I did a dirty play. When he feels that way, he likes to bump. It's basketball. We bump and tussle. I feel like he took it a little too far."
Lakers superstar forward Anthony Davis took issue with Brooks' foul on Vanderbilt, saying it was "not a safe play."
During the fourth quarter, Brooks went over Lakers star LeBron James' back on a rebound attempt and struck James in the face. That, coupled with the earlier foul on Vanderbilt, didn't sit well with Lakers head coach Darvin Ham:
"Being competitive is one thing. But ... putting players at risk of injury with certain plays—I just watched it again [on video] before I came in here, [Brooks] pushes him in the back, a guy that's in the air. Airborne, defenseless. Then Bron's play, Bron goes to the basket and it's a double move with his arms. One arm trying to deflect the ball and it goes back and then it goes across [James'] face.
"So maybe Dillon Brooks shouldn't have been in the game, either."
Brooks, who signed a four-year, $86 million contract with the Rockets during the offseason after spending his first six NBA campaigns with the Memphis Grizzlies, recorded 17 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in Monday's victory.
The 28-year-old has gained the reputation of being an agitator throughout his NBA career, and he continued to thrive in that role Monday.
With the win, the Rockets improved to 22-24 and moved to within one game of the 24-24 Lakers for ninth place in the Western Conference.
The Rockets are a team on the rise thanks to their young talent and the arrival of veterans like Brooks and Fred VanVleet, as they have already won as many games as they won all of last season when they went 22-60.
Brooks is the type of player who helps teams win rough-and-tumble games, especially come playoff time, and even if his antics were borderline on Monday, they contributed to a hugely important Rockets victory, as it kept them in the playoff hunt.
