Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks was ejected on Sunday night after a scuffle with Phoenix Suns’ star Kevin Durant. The former Oregon Ducks star Brooks is known for being a tough NBA player who doesn’t back down and it showed.
Brooks was called for foul on Durant late in the first half, which turned into a shoving match between him Durant and Suns center Nick Richards. Unhappy with the call, Brooks yelled sat the referee, who threw him out of the game with two technical fouls.
Brooks couldn’t believe the ejection, appearing to want to continue to argue with the official but a Houston assistant pulled him back and he exited the court.
The officiating was called into question on social media by many NBA fans and analysts.
“This is driving me crazy. I’m watching the vs game. Dillon Brooks did not deserve to get thrown out of this game. A physical play vs for sure, cussing at the referee initial for the foul call. But to eject the man over that? Come on. Let the players play!” wrote Stephen A. Smith on Twitter/X.
The Rockets beat the Suns, 148-109. Durant was involved in another hard collision in the third quarter with Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. Durant was helped to the locker room and was ruled out with a sprained ankle.
Durant will receive an MRI on Monday, according to Suns coach Mike Budenholzer. Durant does not have a timetable for return and is not joining the Suns on their upcoming three-game road trip.
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Brooks has helped lead the Rockets to wins in 12 of their past 13 games and Houston holds the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings. His teammates and coach backed him on Sunday night in Phoenix.
“Everybody said at halftime when they came in, they all thanked Dillon for sparking us tonight,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Don’t like to get ejected, obviously, but you’ve seen it throughout my two years here that those do ignite us, and our guys get more engaged and locked in.”
While Brooks does have the reputation as a villain in the NBA, Sunday was actually his first ejection this season and the seventh of his eight-year career.
The former Duck is in foul trouble however, totaling the most in the NBA so far this season with 235, and with 15 technical fouls. If Brooks gets one more technical foul, he will get an automatic one-game suspension.
/ Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Udoka revealed why Brooks reacted how he did towards the official.
“The reason he reacted that way is because they only pointed him instead of saying the double, and so he thought it was just on him,” Udoka said after the game. “That’s where I felt they were wrong, that you have to clearly make it a double and he maybe doesn’t react the way he does. But that was the explanation I got, was he reacted that way. I told (the official) why.”
Playing for the Ducks in 2014-2017, Brooks stepped into a major leadership role for coach Dana Altman’s team. In the 2016-2017 season, Brooks was named Pac-12 Player Of The Year as help helped Oregon to a run to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament. It was the Ducks’ first Final Four appearance since 1939.
Brooks and Altman had a special relationship.
“One day I want to get a house here and live,” Brooks said via GoDucks.com. “Oregon took me in like a son. Coach Altman, the staff, the managers, they made it easy for me to come out, show my talents and get better. They’ve treated me so well, and one of these days I’m going to be able to return that.”
Brooks is in the Oregon basketball history books, as the No. 10 all-time career scorer with 1,612 points.
Brooks was drafted by Houston in the 2017 NBA Draft in the second round with the 45th overall pick.
