The rivalry between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks flared up again Monday night.
The fireworks began in the second quarter when Brooks and Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt had a confrontation that ended with Vanderbilt being ejected from the game. Brooks pushed Vanderbilt as he made a move toward the net and was given a common foul. Shortly after, Vanderbilt followed up by pushing Brooks in the chest and neck, earning him two technical fouls.
In the third quarter, James drew Brooks into two quick fouls on defence. But Brooks got revenge early in the fourth when he scored a long two while being defended by James. The Rockets guard starred down his rival as the teams went back down the court.
Then, with about six minutes to play in the game, things really got out of hand when Brooks was called for a foul for hitting James in the head while they both were chasing a rebound at the Lakers’ net. After review, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1.
The animosity between Brooks and James dates back to last spring when Brooks, then a member of the Grizzlies, faced James and the Lakers in the playoffs. During that series, Brooks called James “old” during a media availability and later was ejected from Game 3 after just 17 seconds for hitting James below the belt.
After the game on Monday, Lakers star Anthony Davis said Brooks should have been ejected for pushing Vanderbilt in the second quarter, which would have prevented the fourth-quarter incident with James.
“You know that him and LeBron have their whatever, but what I saw was a blatant hit to the face,” Davis said for the fourth-quater foul. “The ref saw it differently.”
James had a shorter answer when asked about Brooks.
“Next question,” he said with a straight face.
The Rockets won the game 135-119.