January 30, 2024
Dillon Brooks Shakes Up Los Angeles Lakers: Jarred Vanderbilt Ejected, LeBron James Floored
The Los Angeles Lakers were upset that Dillon Brooks wasn't ejected after hitting LeBron James in the face.
Known as one of the NBA’s villains, Dillon Brooks of the Houston Rockets once again got into the head of an opposing player, knocking Jarred Vanderbilt of the Los Angeles Lakers off his game and out of the game.
It all started in the second quarter of last night’s game, after Vanderbilt’s teammate Austin Reaves scored. As CBS Sports reported:
Brooks gave Vanderbilt a bit of a nudge and the Lakers forward responded with a shove of his own. That earned Vanderbilt his first technical — and he wasn’t done just yet. As Brooks was walking away, Vanderbilt followed him and poked him in the back of the head for some reason. That was enough for a second technical and an early trip to the showers.
Vanderbilt’s frustration seemed to stem from a play a few possessions prior where he drove to the basket and Brooks pushed him in the back. Brooks was whistled for a foul on the play and Vanderbilt took a hard fall into the basket stanchion.
The Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt was ejected from Monday night’s game vs. the Rockets after this interaction with Dillon Brooks.
🎥 @BleacherReport pic.twitter.com/Ln5n9VeNDb
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 30, 2024
Yet Brooks wasn’t done.
Brooks has jawed off repeatedly with LeBron James over the past year, and although no argument took place, Brooks was assessed a flagrant 1 foul after hitting the Lakers superstar in the face.
LeBron James went down after being hit in the head by Dillon Brooks 😳
Hope he’s okay 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Dscxax4mlf
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 30, 2024
After the game ended, when questioned about Brooks’ behavior, James just said, “Next question.” However, his teammate Anthony Davis, had something to say.
“It’s bogus,” Davis said. “You take a hard foul, that’s part of basketball, but you not gonna push someone in the back when they have no control of their body in the air. He should have got ejected for that and then him and Bron had their, whatever. From what I saw, it was a blatant hit on Bron to the face. The refs saw it differently. It is what it is.”
Anthony Davis said he believed Dillon Brooks should have been ejected first for his run-in with Jarred Vanderbilt and later for his hit on LeBron James. The Rockets forward wasn’t disqualified for either sequence pic.twitter.com/5KMtehVVYj
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 30, 2024
The Rockets beat the Lakers 135-119.
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