Memphis Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks was recently fined $25,000 by the NBA, who announced Friday that the fine was for “aggressively confronting a game official after failing to leave the court in a timely matter upon his ejection”.
25-year-old Brooks also expressed his own displeasure with the officiating after the Wednesday night matchup with the Mavericks, bluntly calling the referees’ efforts “bulls***”.
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In a press conference, Brooks explained that coming into the game, the Grizzlies had been playing tough, physical basketball for nearly a week. Then, Brooks said:
“All of a sudden, new officials come in here, and they call an inconsistent game. And then, they wanna call ticky-tack [fouls] in the first half. And then the second half, they wanna call, nothing.”
Brooks continued, saying, “Then, you got guys getting undercut, I’m getting hit on the floor, no call. It’s a lack of protection of the players. That’s the main thing. I felt like this crew came out there and just made it about them, and that’s bull.
“And obviously, I can’t put it all on them, you know,” Brooks acknowledged. “We gotta get 50/50 balls and rebound the basketball. Gotta be able to hit shots in timely ways, but, this crew did not protect the players. They just wanted to get the game over with, and that’s bulls***. That’s bulls*** from the very beginning. That’s bull.”
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In the video below of Brooks ejection and reaction, the 5th year wing is seen having to be held back by team officials following getting thrown out of the game in the fourth quarter, with Memphis down 103-93 at home against Dallas. The Grizzlies ended up losing the game 104-96.
The 15-11 Memphis Grizzlies will host an 8-16 Houston Rockets team Saturday, at the FedEx Forum Arena.