Anthony Davis defends Jarred Vanderbilt for his ejection / News - Basketnews.com

Anthony Davis defended Jarred Vanderbilt after his ejection against the Rockets, claiming that Dillon Brooks should have been ejected, too.

Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con-Scanpix Credit USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con-Scanpix

Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt was ejected in the first half against the Houston Rockets, but Anthony Davis defended his teammate.

Player of the Game EFF 41 Jalen Green Points 34 Accuracy 12-23 Rebounds 12 Assists 7

Dillon Brooks fouled Vanderbilt on a dunk with 11:03 remaining in the second quarter while Vanderbilt was in the air.

Not long after, Brooks bumped Vanderbilt with his arm while he was under the rim asAustin Reavesmade a pull-up jump shot with 10:17 to go in the second. Vanderbilt responded by shoving Brooks in the chest with his forearm, drawing a technical foul from referee Eric Dalen.

A moment later, Vanderbilt poked his finger on the side of Brooks' head and was assessed by another tech by crew chief Curtis Blair and ejected from the game.

Dave McMenamin from ESPN reports that Brooks called Vanderbilt a "p---y" during the exchange.

"He's going for a wide-open dunk, and [Brooks] just pushed him in the back," Davis said after the game. "It's not a safe play. Guys get hurt like that. And you got to know what type of player [Brooks] is."

[The referees] kind of let that just keep going on, and [Brooks] kind of provoked it. He talks and says whatever he wants to the refs, to players and at the end of the day, we're men. No man is going to talk towards another man the way he was talking to Vando. So, Vando did what he had to do," Davis added.

With Vanderbilt ejected, the Lakers suffered a 119-135 defeat. Check out how this loss affects the Lakers NBA title odds at sports betting providers in California.

Meanwhile, Brooks said that Vanderbilt escalated the run-in.

"I feel like he may feel like I did a dirty play," Brooks said. "When he feels that way, he likes to bump. It's basketball. We bump and tussle. I feel like he took it a little too far," the Rockets forward claimed.

3-pointers this season

36%11,0Points made:11,0Accuracy:36,4%Place in standings:28Record max:22Record min:2Most made 3FGs:D'Angelo RussellTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

Nevertheless, Davis says Brooks should have faced the same consequences as Vanderbilt.

"I mean, you take a hard foul," Davis said. "That's part of basketball, but you are just not going to blatantly push someone in their back when they have no control of their body, and they are in the air. And he should have gotten ejected for that. And then you know him and Bron have their [collision], and from what I saw, it was just a blatant hit to LeBron to his face."

The Lakers head coach, Darvin Ham, had a similar opinion.

"Being competitive is one thing," Ham said. "But putting players at risk of injury with certain plays -- I just watched it again [on video] before I came in here, [Brooks] pushes him in the back, a guy that's in the air. Airborne, defenseless. Then, in Bron's play, Bron goes to the basket, and it's a double move with his arms. One arm trying to deflect the ball, and it goes back, and then it goes across [James'] face."

"So maybe Dillon Brooks shouldn't have been in the game, either," Ham added.

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