Dillon Brooks insisted he was trying to keep the peace. Then he delivered a parting shot at Draymond Green.
The Phoenix Suns forward offered a pointed assessment of his longtime rival after their third-quarter confrontation Monday night at Chase Center led to Green’s ejection from the Golden State Warriors‘ 116-113 victory.
Brooks received a technical foul for confronting Green following a physical exchange involving Suns center Khaman Maluach.
But the veteran forward suggested that Green had been looking for trouble throughout the night.
Dillon Brooks Takes Swipe at Draymond Green After Altercation
“I was just trying to de-escalate it,” Brooks said, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
“He was just tweaking all game.”
The remarks came after a confrontation that began beneath the basket with 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Green was knocked to the floor while battling Maluach for position near the rim.
After getting up, Green wrapped his arms around the second-year center’s waist as Maluach attempted to finish a pass from Devin Booker.
Officials called a personal foul on Green, who subsequently threw Maluach to the court after the whistle.
The officials assessed Green a technical foul for the throwdown.
Brooks immediately rushed toward Green from the perimeter, confronting him over the play.
The two grabbed each other’s jerseys during a brief confrontation before being separated.
Officials assessed a double technical foul, giving Green his second technical of the sequence and triggering an automatic ejection.
Brooks remained in the game.
Green’s Ejection Sparks Warriors Comeback
The confrontation initially appeared costly for Golden State.
Phoenix held a 67-57 advantage when Green was ejected. Booker’s ensuing technical free throw extended the lead to 11.
But the Warriors responded with their strongest stretch of the night.
Golden State outscored Phoenix 59-45 the rest of the way, holding the Suns to 20 fourth-quarter points.
Stephen Curry led the comeback with 34 points, including 18 in the third quarter.
Charles Bassey contributed a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds, while Brandin Podziemski added 20 points.
Curry credited Green’s ejection with providing an emotional spark.
“He lit a fire in all of us,” Curry said. “We had to respond. I’m glad we did.”
Podziemski echoed that sentiment, explaining that the confrontation energized a Warriors team that had struggled to match Phoenix’s intensity.
The victory extended Golden State’s winning streak to five games after a 0-3 start.
Steve Kerr Downplays Green-Brooks Confrontation
Warriors coach Steve Kerr declined to criticize Green’s ejection afterward.
Instead, he characterized the confrontation as part of an intensely competitive game.
“That’s just the greatest NBA basketball players on earth competing,” Kerr said.
“Nothing serious happened.”
Kerr also acknowledged that Golden State’s defensive improvement without Green was unusual, crediting his players for finally matching Phoenix’s energy.
The ejection was Green’s first this season and 23rd during regular-season competition. He has also been ejected eight times in the playoffs.
His history includes multiple suspensions, most notably an indefinite ban in December 2023 for striking then-Suns center Jusuf Nurkic.
Green did not address reporters after Monday’s game.
Brooks, meanwhile, had plenty to say.
Yet the final result supplied an uncomfortable ending to his criticism: Phoenix lost despite playing most of the second half without Golden State’s defensive leader.
For the Warriors, Green’s confrontation became another reminder of the combustible edge that has defined his career.
This time, his teammates turned it into a victory.
Suns’ Dillon Brooks Takes Shot at Warriors’ Draymond Green After Heated Ejection