Donovan Mitchell, Dillon Brooks get into scuffle; Cavs, Grizzlies react

Thursday night’s matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers andMemphis Grizzlies was a showcase of the brightest young talents theNBA has to offer.

Both teams were trading runs, as Ja Morant and Darius Garlandtook turns getting into the paint and finishing or finding theirguys for great looks. Evan Mobley would not be denied on theoffensive glass, and his aggressive ascent continued. Desmond Banewas firing on all cylinders from distance.

Then, the game abruptly came to a halt when Mobley blockedDillon Brooks on a fastbreak opportunity. As Donovan Mitchell cameup with the loose-ball rebound near the baseline, a grounded Brooksrolled into his ankle and, with his left hand, struck Mitchell inthe groin.

Mitchell tossed the ball back at Brooks in disgust and promptlyshoved him. Chaos ensued.

As both sides tried to de-escalate the situation, the two wereseparated. After a review of the play, Mitchell was ejected for a“hostile act” while Brooks was handed a Flagrant 2 penalty and alsotossed.

Spida and Dillon Brooks get CHIPPY 😳pic.twitter.com/jGhYHa8VAS

With a five-point advantage at that point in the third quarter,the Cavs ended up going on a 23-11 run that bled over into theopening part of the fourth quarter. Cleveland did not relinquishthe lead, and ended up victorious over Memphis by a final of128-113.

After the contest, unplanned and knowing the financialramifications to come, Mitchell requested to speak on the matter.When asked if he felt it was a cheap shot, the All-Star guard didnot hold back his feelings about Brooks, whom he’s encounteredplenty of times.

“Yeah. For sure. That’s just who he is. We have seen it a bunchin this league with him. Him and I have had our personal battlesfor years. Quite frankly, I’ve been busting his ass for years —playoffs, regular season. And the one game he does an alright jobon me today, he decides to do something like that. No place forthat in the game,” Mitchell said.

“You’ve gotta protect yourself at the end of the day. This hasbeen brewing for years— with me, with other guys in the league. Youall see it. This isn’t new. Tonight was just the end of it. It’stough when you can’t guard somebody and you can’t do something withsomebody, you’ve got to resort to that. And that is what he hasdone to a lot of players. Off the top of my head, I think it’s likeDame [Lillard] and Steph [Curry]. It’s just one of those things youresort to and that’s cool, but I’m glad my guys held it downtonight and had my back throughout the whole thing.”

Mitchell continued to address the matter with Brooks.

“We have been talking nonstop, but I wouldn’t say [it's evergotten] to this extent. There’s always been talk. You can go back.I think it was like two years ago, regular season, 30 points a game(against him), it’s nonstop talking back and forth. That was coolwhen we were just talking. But that right there, a line has to bedrawn," Mitchell said. "The NBA has to do something about it. I’mnot the only person this has happened to, and there’s no place forthat in this game. I took matters into my own hands. But at the endof the day, that ain’t it.

“I didn’t think it would be like that. Maybe the jawing back andforth, which is part of the game and it’s cool or whatever, butwhen you have a cheap shot like that – there was no need to dothat. I wasn’t expecting that and then, that’s just how I reacted.If you just can’t guard somebody then just say that or just get aswitch. You know what I mean? That’s what it is. It is what itis.”

In the Grizzlies’ locker room, with Morant coming to histeammate’s defense and telling reporters to only ask his teammateabout the game itself, Brooks didn’t have much to say other thanthat his Flagrant 2 saved him a couple of technical fouls.

“I just think people don’t like me,” Brooks said.

Morant denied any kind of previous tension or history regardinghis team and Mitchell, and shared his opinion on the matter in abroader context of NBA teams.

“I ain’t gonna speak on the play. I’mma just speak on prettymuch everything. Anything when it comes to negative with theGrizzlies, we normally get the punishments. It ain’t the same. Theyhate us... We don’t like them. I’m standing on that. That’s how itis though. It’s a little situation going on now, I ain’t gonnaspeak on it yet, but if some sh** don’t change, y’all will gonnahear me speak on it.

“We don’t got no history with nobody. We don’t beef with nobody.They don’t like us. We speak our mind, we put pressure on ‘em, wetalk to ‘em. Some people ain’t built for it. They don’t like it,and I feel like that’s why teams always get in that match with us.But every time, we’re gonna stand on all 10, ride for our guys,gonna step. Whatever comes together... We’re brothers. We put inthe work each and every day together. So anytime we’re out on thatfloor, we’re out there battling together. Anything else comes,we’re gonna do it together.”