credit: Twitter
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell was involved in an on-court brawl with Memphis Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks after the latter punched the 26-year-old in the groin. The Cavaliers guard and other legendary players criticized Brooks for his 'dirty play' on Mitchell as both the players got ejected in the third quarter of the game on Thursday night.
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The fifth-placed in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland Cavaliers defeated second-placed Western Conference side, Memphis Grizzlies at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse by 15 points. However, the altercation between Donovan Mitchell and Dillon Brooks headlined the Thursday night game.
The fight broke in the third quarter, when Cavs' Evan Mobley blocked Brooks' layup attempt as the latter went down on the floor. While Brooks was on the floor, he threw a cheap shot on Mitchell, who picked the rebound. Following the low blow, Mitchell fell on the ground and immediately threw the ball at the Brooks, that forced his ejection.
While throwing the ball at Brooks was not enough for Mitchell, the Cavaliers guard and the Grizzlies' Brooks involved in a massive brawl as the referees and their teammates had to intervene and separate the two players.
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In a post game interview, Donovan Mitchell took a jibe at Brooks for his 'dirty play' and said, "The NBA has to do something about this. Frankly, I've been busting his ass for years. Regular season, playoffs... The one game he does well with me, he decides to do that?"
Watch Mitchell's interview:
Shaq and NBA on TNT crew react
Even the NBA on TNT crew including Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley among others, criticized Brooks cheap shot on Mitchell as Barkley said, "You can't go around punching people...that was a cheap shot, period."
Additionally, Mitchell urged the NBA to do something about Brooks' bad behavior. He said, "That’s just who he is. We’ve seen it a bunch in this league with him. Him and I have had our personal battles for years. There’s no place for that in the game. This has been brewing for years with me and other guys in the league. You all see it. This isn’t new."
Earlier in January during Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers match in the NBA regular season, Dillon Brooks was involved in an altercation with the NFL Hall of Famer, Shannon Sharpe, which sparked a brawl between the FS1 talking head and Ja Morant, his dad and other Grizzlies.
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