Dillon Brooks, who has been feuding with LeBron James, this series, was ejected for hitting The King in the groin during the third quarter of the Lakers’ 111-101 Game 3 win over the Grizzlies in Los Angeles.
The Lakers now hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The 27-year-old Grizzlies guard, who called the 38-year-old James “old” earlier in the series, was given a flagrant 2 foul for the shot and was bounced from the game.
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James, who had 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists, remained in the game and had the last laugh.
Brooks, on the other hand, scored just seven points before he was ejected. Ja Morant, who played a dominant fourth quarter, led the Grizzlies with 45 points.
Before the game, James clapped back at Brooks’ charge that he was past his prime.
“I’m not here for the bulls–t,” James said, according to ESPN. “I’m ready to play and that’s it.”
The Grizzlies defeated the Lakers 103-93 in Game 2; James had 28 points but he was 1-8 from 3-point range and the Lakers were outscored by 17 points while he was in the game.
After Memphis’ win on Wednesday, Brooks was blunt in his description of where he thinks James’ game is at now.
“I don’t care — he’s old. You know what I mean?” Brooks asked.
“I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40.”
Needless to say, but now the rivalry between the two has been amped up after this latest incident.
Meanwhile the Philadelphia 76ers shrugged off the absence of Joel Embiid to complete a 4-0 sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA playoffs as the Phoenix Suns edged closer to a second round berth with victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Sixers advanced to an Eastern Conference semi-final showdown against either Boston or Atlanta with a dominant second-half display to seal a 96-88 victory in Brooklyn.
The Sixers trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter but transformed the contest with an 18-4 run to take the lead before closing out victory with a fourth-quarter rally.
The Sixers’ win was all the more impressive given the absence of star centre Embiid, who suffered a right knee sprain in Friday’s 102-97 victory in game three.
Embiid led the NBA with 33.1 points a game and is a finalist for the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
With Embiid out, Paul Reed stepped in to fill the void and finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Tobias Harris led the scoring for Philadelphia with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while De’Anthony Melton came off the bench to produce 15 points and lead the fourth-quarter rally.
Harris said the Sixers had been determined to use Embiid’s absence as a motivator.
“He’s the MVP. And when we heard he wasn’t playing, I think it was an opportunity for everybody else to really step up and understand that we’ve got to get a win without the big fella,” Harris told the TNT television network after the win.
“For us to come out here and get this victory, it feels great for the whole group.
“The whole group came together today. It’s a great win for us and a great way to sweep the series.”
Asked what his message to the injured Embiid would be, Harris replied: “Hurry up and get your arse back out here.”
The 4-0 series victory was Philadelphia’s first playoff sweep since 1991. Spencer Dinwiddie led Brooklyn’s scoring with 20 points while Nic Claxton had 19 points with 12 rebounds.
Australian Patty Mills had a rare five minutes off the bench, having largely been left out of the rotation in the latter stages of the season.
Unfortunately for Mills he found himself on the floor twice trying to defend Harden and Maxey.
WESTBROOK EXPLOSION NOT ENOUGH FOR UNDERMANNED CLIPPERS
In Los Angeles, Kevin Durant finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to help Phoenix take a 3-1 series lead over the Clippers with a 112-100 victory.
Devin Booker plundered 30 points and veteran Chris Paul added 19 in a late burst of scoring as Phoenix bagged their second straight win in Los Angeles in the best-of-seven series.
It means the Suns need just one more win to book their place in the Western Conference semi-finals, with game five set for Phoenix on Wednesday.
The Clippers’ hopes of squaring the series had been dealt a blow by the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who joined Paul George on the injured list.
In their absence Russell Westbrook produced one of his best performances for the Clippers with a 37-point display but ultimately it was not enough as the greater depth of the Suns line-up proved too much.
“I’m in a good place and I’m enjoying playing ball,” Durant said after the win.
“I’ve been out a few months this season, and I’m just happy I’m out here where the ball is.”
BUCKS DEALT BLOW BEFORE GAME 3 AGAINST HEAT
Elsewhere, Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out of the third game of the Bucks’ NBA playoff series against the Miami Heat an hour before tip-off.
The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player will miss a second straight game with a lower back contusion, suffered in a bad fall of the opening game of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series.
Head coach Mike Budenholzer had indicated that Antetokounmpo might be ready to take the floor, but said in his pre-game remarks to reporters that it’s not clear when he will return.
“We’ll continue to monitor him throughout the day (Sunday) and the next day,” Budenholzer said. “It’s not always a linear thing. He’s not in a position where he can play, so we’re going to continue to monitor and work with him and hope for the best.”
Without Antetokounmpo the Bucks won game two of the series to go into game in Miami level at 1-1.
Antetokounmpo is just one of the high-profile players with injury concerns in the first round of the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers were without another MVP candidate in star centre Embiid but still beat Brooklyn 96-88 to complete their sweep of the Nets.
The Clippers were without Leonard and George in their 112-100 loss to the Phoenix Suns and Memphis’s star point guard Ja Morant was questionable for the Grizzlies’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers but later ruled available to return.
Part of this article was originally published at the New York Post and republished with permission.