In a thrilling finish on Sunday night in Phoenix, Dillon Brooks helped orchestrate a stunning 20-point fourth-quarter comeback for the Suns, capping it with a go-ahead 3-pointer over LeBron James with 12.2 seconds remaining. However, the momentum swung dramatically when Brooks went chest-to-chest with his longtime rival James in celebration, earning his second technical foul and an ejection. 0 ”” “LARGE” 1 “Dillon Brooks clashes chest-to-chest with LeBron James, leading to his ejection” “LARGE”
The ejection shifted the game back to the Los Angeles Lakers. James missed the ensuing technical free throw but was fouled by Devin Booker on a 3-point attempt moments later, sinking two of three free throws with 3.0 seconds left to give L.A. a 116-114 lead. The 40-year-old superstar then sealed the victory with a crucial block on Grayson Allen’s potential game-winner. 3 “LeBron James blocks Grayson Allen at the buzzer to secure the Lakers win” “LARGE”
The heated matchup revived a rivalry dating back to the 2023 playoffs, when Brooks – then with Memphis – famously called James “old” and vowed to “poke bears.” On Sunday, the physicality started early: Brooks picked up his first technical just minutes into the game for shoving James during a rebound battle, while James earned one early in the second half for bodying up Brooks.
“I just like to compete,” James said postgame. “He’s going to compete. I’m going to compete. We’re going to get up in each other’s face… We’re just competing.”
James denied exaggerating the contact to draw the call, insisting: “That’s definitely a tech. If it was a tech on me in the [third quarter], then it was a tech on him right here, too.”
Crew chief Tyler Ford confirmed in a pool report that Brooks’ second technical was assessed “for making unsportsmanlike contact during the dead ball.”
Despite turning 41 later this month, LeBron delivered another masterful performance with 26 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, overcoming eight turnovers to lead the Lakers to victory.
The dramatic ending adds another chapter to the LeBron James vs Dillon Brooks feud, captivating NBA fans with intense physicality and clutch plays in a nail-biter between Western Conference contenders.
He brought his antics,” Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt said of Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks. “Tonight it cost him.”
Dillon Brooks exited the arena without commenting to media after a frustrating night, finishing with 18 points on efficient 6-of-9 shooting but playing just 25 minutes due to five personal fouls on top of his two technicals that led to ejection.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick downplayed the ongoing tension between Brooks and LeBron James: “In terms of the back-and-forth, our group was unaffected by it.”
Forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who was part of the Lakers team that faced Brooks’ Memphis Grizzlies in the 2023 playoffs – where the rivalry ignited – reacted with amusement to the outcome.
“S—, I don’t know, he brought his antics,” Vanderbilt said. “Tonight, it cost him.” 2 “Dillon Brooks chest-bumps LeBron James, earning his ejection in the crucial moment” “LARGE”
Devin Booker, back from a three-game groin injury absence and leading Phoenix with 27 points and seven assists, backed his teammate’s fiery style.
“Yeah, I mean there’s history there,” Booker said. “I love to see it. People always say everything’s too friendly in the NBA and then Dillon comes around and now it’s too much. So like I said, I’d rather it the other way – that it’d be too much.”
However, Booker disagreed with his late-game foul on James’ 3-point attempt that sent the Lakers star to the line for the game-deciding free throws. 4 “Devin Booker fouls LeBron James on a three-pointer in the final seconds” “LARGE”
“I got to check the rule book,” Booker added. “I’ve always been told the hand’s part of the ball.”
In the pool report, crew chief Tyler Ford clarified that Booker “made illegal contact to the right wrist of James.”
James missed the first free throw but sank the next two to flip a one-point deficit into a lead, before his buzzer-beating block on Grayson Allen sealed the dramatic victory. 10 “LeBron James at the free-throw line in the closing moments against the Suns” “LARGE” 7 “LeBron James blocks Grayson Allen to preserve the Lakers win” “LARGE”
“Make them,” James described his clutch mindset. “Just go up there and make ’em and then get a stop.”
The intense LeBron James-Dillon Brooks rivalry delivered another memorable chapter, with Brooks’ aggression ultimately costing the Suns in a heartbreaking loss.
