The "Boink" That Started The Brawl Between Donovan Mitchell And Dillon Brooks
There was plenty of attention focused on the Grizzlies’ Ja Morant and the Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell, a pair of All-Stars who figured to deliver somewhat of a preview in front of a national audience on TNT at Rocket Mortage FieldHouse on Thursday night.
When the dust settled, quite literally, Mitchell was at the center of it but it was another member of the Grizzlies who also shared the spotlight: Dillon Brooks.
Brooks’ tumble to the floor following a block by Evan Mobley set of a melee that sent coaches and players sprinting from their benches to the epicenter of the action along the baseline in front of the Grizzlies bench.
As Brooks fell to the floor, he rolled over and his left hand appeared to hit Donovan Mitchell in the groin area with a closed fist.
TNT’s Kevin Harlan summed it up succinctly:
There's no love lost between Mitchell and Brooks, although their altercations never escalated to the level they did Thursday night. The pair shared the Western Conference together before Mitchell came over in a trade from the Utah Jazz.
If Brooks' antics came as a surprise to anyone, it surely didn't to Mitchell.
"That's just who he is. You know, we've seen it. We've seen it a bunch in this league with him. Him and I have had our personal battles for years," Mitchell said. "Quite frankly, I've been busting his ass for years. Playoffs, regular season. You know, in the one game, he does a great job on me today. You know, he decides to do something like that. There's no place for that in the game."
Mitchell took exception to where Brooks' threw his hand, that much is clear. He immediately fired the ball in Brooks' direction and gave him a push, before the pair got into a shoving match that ended with Brooks getting tossed to the floor.
Tempers more than flared: An assistant coach dove on Brooks, benches cleared and the public address announcer implored fans to remain in their seats.
"We've been talking nonstop. I wouldn't say this to this extent, but there's always been talking," Mitchell said. And, you know, that was cool when we were just talking. But that right there, that's where the line has to be drawn and NBA has to do something about it. Because like I said, I'm not the only person this happened to. There's no place for that in this game."
The Cavs used the melee as a rallying point. Cleveland had a five-point edge when the tussle broke out but erupted on a 23-11 run to take a 17-point lead over the Grizzlies in the 4th quarter en route to a double-digit win.
Cavs' head coach J.B. Bickerstaff applauded his team for responding with a big-time effort, and said his team's calm and cool demeanor shouldn't be confused with being a push-over.
Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff felt Mitchell, who said he has had previous run-ins with Brooks, had every right to defend himself.
"That was a cheap shot in multiple ways," he said. "A guy should have the right to stand up for himself. I thought Donovan did that. I'm proud of our guys. We don't have those guys that start s---, but we have guys who don't run from s--- and you have to in this league."
Mitchell struggled on the floor Thursday night, but he didn't have any difficulty expressing his feelings on the incident. He shot just 2-of-11 for six points and at one point was grabbing his groin as he fell to the floor in the second quarter,
But Mitchell didn't miss any of the shots he took at Brooks following the game.
"If you just can't guard somebody, then just say that and just get a switch, you know what I mean?"
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