PHOENIX — A wild finish at Footprint Center on Sunday ended with LeBron James on the foul line, Dillon Brooks in the locker room and the Los Angeles Lakers holding a 116-114 win over the Phoenix Suns.
Brooks drilled a go-ahead three-pointer with 12.2 seconds remaining, capping a 20-point fourth-quarter rally by Phoenix. The moment unraveled immediately when the Suns forward pressed his chest into James during the ensuing dead ball. The contact drew Brooks’ second technical foul and an automatic ejection, reversing the momentum he had created.
James missed the technical free throw but, with 3.0 seconds left, Devin Booker was whistled for hitting the veteran’s right wrist on a three-point attempt. James sank two of the three shots, turning a one-point deficit into a one-point lead.
On the final possession, James blocked Grayson Allen’s baseline jumper at the horn to seal the outcome.
Stat lines and simmering rivalry
James, who turns 41 later this month, finished with 26 points, four assists, two steals and two blocks, overcoming eight turnovers and the missed technical attempt. Brooks logged 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting in just 25 minutes before fouling out on the double technical.
The confrontation extended a feud tracing back to the 2023 playoffs, when Brooks labeled James “old” and bragged that he “pokes bears.”
“He’s going to compete, I’m going to compete,” James said afterward. “We’re going to get up in each other’s face. Try not to go borderline with it.”
Officials’ explanations
Crew chief Tyler Ford said in a pool report that Brooks’ second technical was assessed “for making unsportsmanlike contact during the dead ball.” Earlier, Brooks picked up his first tech less than a minute into the game for repeatedly shoving James while fighting for a rebound. James was also hit with a technical at the 10:55 mark of the third quarter for bodying Brooks after Luka Doncic fouled the Suns enforcer.
Booker, returning from a three-game absence due to a groin strain, led Phoenix with 27 points and seven assists and defended Brooks’ aggressive style. He disagreed with the whistle on his late foul, saying, “I’ve always been told the hand’s part of the ball.” Ford described the contact as an illegal hit to James’ wrist.
Inside the locker rooms
Lakers coach JJ Redick said the skirmishes had “no effect” on his bench, while forward Jarred Vanderbilt, a participant in the 2023 first-round series between the teams, noted, “He brought his antics. Tonight, it cost him.”
The victory moved Los Angeles to 18-10 on the season and snapped Phoenix’s three-game win streak.
Source: ESPN
