A rookie tried to give Dillon Brooks a taste of his own medicine, and it ended up costing his team.
Nets guard Egor Dёmin shoved Brooks late in Brooklyn’s 106-102 loss on Tuesday, Jan. 27, leading to a small dust-up that cleared assistant coaches off the bench.
With the Suns up by two with 1:14 left to play, a loose ball spilled into the Nets’ side of the court. As several players dove for the ball, it eventually ended up in the hands of Nets forward Zaire Williams. Three Suns players mobilized quickly to try to get their hands on it for a jump ball, which was granted by the officials.
One of those Phoenix players was Dillon Brooks, who’s known for his physical and controversial play. As Brooks lingered over Williams, Dёmin came over and placed his hands on Brooks’ back, lightly shoving him, though Dёmin did extend his arms with the shove.
Brooks exaggerated the contact and flailed onto the court, which prompted Suns players to confront Dёmin. Nets guard Terrance Mann and forward Michael Porter Jr. came to the rookie’s defense, as more than a dozen assistant coaches from both teams rushed to separate the scuffle.
That mostly defused the encounter, as Dёmin walked away and Brooks lay on the floor. Brooks would eventually get up and jaw with Mann, though the matter was resolved shortly after.
Officials assessed two separate double-technicals to Dёmin and Suns guard Grayson Allen and to Mann and Suns forward Royce O’Neale. Porter was also assessed a technical, which led to a Suns free throw.
“I got pushed in the back,” Brooks told reporters after the game. “They made the right call when they looked at the review for a very long time. … It didn’t deserve my energy”
Brooks won the ensuing jump ball, but Brooklyn couldn’t convert any of its finals shots, eventually dropping the game.
Dёmin, however, may have been dishing out a little payback.
With around 30 seconds left in the first half, Brooks and Dёmin were engaged in a boxout situation, when Brooks, who had his hands raised throughout most of the action, continued to use his body to leverage Dёmin further back, toward the first row. Eventually, as the two became entangled, Brooks shoved Dёmin to the ground.
Brooks was given a technical for the play, his 15th of the season. This is significant because he will draw a one-game suspension if he’s called for his 16th; Brooks has played in 41 games this season.
“I just feel like that play wouldn’t have happened if they blew their whistle with the foul called, because it ended up being a foul call and then they had to give me a T after ’cause I’m trying to get the guy off me,” Brooks said.