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dave mcmenamin
Phoenix – just a few moments later dillon brooks‘Talents helped lead furious 20-point phoenix sun Back in the fourth quarter on Sunday — as he drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 12.2 seconds remaining — the momentum came back because of his nature. Los Angeles Lakers‘Kind glance.
Following his clutch 3, Brooks went chest-to-chest with his old nemesis, Lebron JamesAnd he was called for a technical foul – his second of the game – and was ejected.
James went 2-for-4 from the line on the Lakers’ second possession – missed the technique, but then got fouled devin booker Failed two attempts on 3rd and with 3.0 seconds remaining – and then was blocked grayson allenlast shot to safety win 116-114 to la
it was The latest installment in the rivalry This has been going on since the 2023 playoffs, when Brooks — who is 11 years younger than James — called the NBA’s all-time leading scorer “old” and proudly declared, “I kill the bear.”
James, who turns 41 later this month, turned in another age-defying performance on Sunday, scoring 26 points, four assists, two steals, two blocks and fending off missed free throws (and eight turnovers of his own) in the win.
“I just love competing,” James said of the bout with Brooks. “He’s going to compete. I’m going to compete. We’re going to stand in front of each other. Try not to go over the borderline with it. I don’t really take it there. But we’re just competing and did that almost until the end of the game.”
Asked whether he exaggerated Brooks’ contact with 12.2 seconds left to get the referee’s attention so a technical could be called, James said the violation was clear.
“It’s definitely a technique,” James said. “If it was a technique on me [third quarter]So this was a technique right here on that as well.”
In fact, James was called on for barely a minute in the second half to prepare for Brooks’ body luka doncic Insulted the promoter of Sons.
Just like barely a minute into the game, Brooks was called for repeatedly pushing James as they struggled for position for a rebound.
In a pool report after the game, crew chief Tyler Ford reported that Brooks’ second technical foul was called for “making unsportsmanlike contact during a dead ball.”
Brooks, who finished with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting but was limited to just 25 minutes as he picked up five fouls in addition to two takes, left the field without speaking to reporters.
“In terms of the back-and-forth, our group was unaffected by it,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of James and Brooks.
lakers ahead jared vanderbiltWho was on the team during the time of L.A. and The memphis grizzlies Played in the first round of the postseason in 2023 and Brooks’ protests began, it seemed from Sunday’s results.
“S—, I don’t know, he’s got his antics,” Vanderbilt said of Brooks. “Tonight, he paid the price.”
Booker, who returned to lead Phoenix with 27 points and seven assists after a three-game absence due to a groin strain, echoed his teammate’s viewpoint.
“Yeah, I mean there’s history there,” Booker said. “I love to see it. People always say everything is so friendly in the NBA and then Dillon comes in and now it’s too much. So like I said, I’d love it the other way – that it would be too much.”
What Booker didn’t agree with was his foul in the waning seconds on James’ 3-pointer that allowed the Lakers’ 23-year-old veteran to win it at the foul line.
“I mean there’s history there. I love to see it. People always say everything in the NBA is so friendly and then Dillon comes in and now it’s too much. So like I said, I’d prefer it the other way – that it would be too much.”
devin booker
“I have to check the rule book,” Booker said. “I’ve always been told that the ball is part of the hand.”
Booker’s foul play was also addressed in the pool report, and Ford said the Suns star “made illegal contact with James’ right wrist.”
James missed the first of three, then hit the next two to turn a one-point deficit into a one-point lead.
“Make them,” James said of his mentality in the final seconds. “Just go out there and make them and then stop.”
