Getty DeMar DeRozan #11 of the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan isn’t one to back down from a challenge.
The Compton native and NBA veteran of 15 seasons has spoken candidly about his upbringing before. And on the court, the only time he has spoken about intimidation is in a positive light about teammate Zach LaVine.
So when Houston Rockets swingman Dillon Brooks approached DeRozan from behind to confront him about a foul on teammate Jalen Green, the Bulls forward took exception.
Brooks grabbed DeRozan’s arm, which the Bulls star took exception to.
DeRozan turned, grabbed Brooks’ jersey and a scuffle ensued that included coaches and teammates from both sides in an eventual 127-117 Bulls loss.
“I don’t play the walking up on somebody when their back is turned. Nah, that’s just not a thing we do,” DeRozan said, per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley on March 21. “I just felt like it’s an issue walking up on any man from behind.”
Things are gettin chippy in Houston!
Officials ejected both players after reviewing the altercation.
Per Cowley, DeRozan said he apologized to his teammates for the incident. Crew chief Curtis Blair explained the decision to eject both players after the game.
DeMar DeRozan Ejected for Foul, Not Scuffle With Dillon Brooks in Bulls’ Loss to Rockets
“DeRozan was assessed a Flagrant Foul penalty 2 because the contact was excessive and unnecessary,” Blair told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, per the official pool report on March 21. “After review, DeRozan was already assessed a Flagrant Foul penalty 2 so he was ejected. All the other participants were there to defuse the situation.”
Blair said Brooks escalated the situation, resulting in his ejection despite having just one technical foul. Rockets center Jock Landale – whose 17 points led anchored Houston’s 46-28 edge in scoring off the bench – seemed to suggest he too believed Brooks escalated the situation.
Jock Landale to @SportsVanessa:
“Dillon Brooks if you’re listening this ain’t Memphis man. Stop getting yourself ejected. We need you out here. We need that physicality.”
The former Memphis Grizzlies wing has simultaneously lamented and embraced his reputation as an agitator.
He tried Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James during last year’s playoffs; a 4-2 L.A. series win.
The Bulls got close to pulling off the comeback, cutting the deficit to as little as two points multiple times before the incident occurred. But they couldn’t get over the hump without DeRozan. The six-time All-Star finished with 16 points and the Bulls dropped to 3-4 in their last seven outings.
Brooks finished with 23 points while Green remained in the game and finished with a team-high 26 points in leading the Rockets to their seventh straight victory. After the game, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan took the opportunity to speak on officiating across the NBA.
Billy Donovan: ‘Our Responsibility’ to Adjust to Officiating
“I think it’s pretty clear league-wide, the number of fouls called prior to the All-Star break, there’s fewer now,” Donovan told reporters during his media availability. “It’s our responsibility to adjust to officiating, to adjust to that. There were probably a few missed calls when DeMar went to the basket a couple of times. I think Vooch [Nikola Vucevic] too.
“They probably felt the same way on some of their drives.”
At least a few fans felt that DeRozan’s defense on Green was over the top, with one going so far as to say that it was payback for the latter’s block on the former one sequence earlier.
“DeMar jumped out [on Green], I personally did not feel – he definitely, I think, was going to foul him. But I don’t think I felt it warranted a flagrant 2. They did. We live with it. And then I really didn’t see anything because I was watching the officials.
“I just saw him and DeMar locked up. I didn’t see how it got escalated.”