An intense moment unfolded during Thursday night’s NBA game between the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets, leading to the ejection of Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan and Houston’s Dillon Brooks. The incident escalated into an on-court scrum and occurred amidst Houston’s 127-117 victory over Chicago.
With the third quarter winding down and the Rockets ahead, a confrontation sparked when DeRozan hip-checked Jalen Green, causing Green to fall. Bulls coach Billy Donovan weighed in on the cause, hinting at frustration from missed calls leading up to the incident.
“I think there was some contact on some drives, some fouls, previous calls that were not called,” Donovan said. “Obviously, DeMar jumped off of that screen and fouled Green.”
Brooks immediately approached DeRozan, leading to a physical altercation between the two players. Rockets coach Ime Udoka expressed his displeasure with Brooks’ ejection, attributing it to his approach.
“I didn’t love it, being that he got elbowed,” Udoka stated. “He walked over and didn’t say anything crazy. But they say the rules are the guy that kind of instigates it to get it to that step after DeRozan did what he did, he got [ejected] because of that.”
The situation escalated as team staff and security attempted to break up the scrum, leading to further chaos when Torrey Craig and Brooks tripped over a fallen security guard.
Upon review, officials ruled DeRozan’s initial foul a flagrant 2, resulting in his ejection. Brooks was also ejected after receiving a technical foul for his role in the altercation. Donovan expressed his surprise at the severity of DeRozan’s penalty.
“I don’t think DeMar’s intention was to get a flagrant 2. Certainly, it was fouling, and of course, flagrant 1, and they’re shooting a free throw,” Donovan said. “I don’t think that was ever his intention to do that. I actually was a little surprised that it got elevated to a flagrant 2, personally.”
At the time of their departures, Brooks was leading Houston with 23 points, while DeRozan had contributed 16 points for Chicago. Crew chief Curtis Blair provided official insight into the rulings.
“DeRozan was assessed a flagrant foul penalty 2 because the contact was excessive and unnecessary,” Blair explained. “Because Brooks escalated the situation, therefore he was given a technical foul and ejected.”
More must-reads: