Suns' Dillon Brooks chooses bad time to 'poke bears' again

In the next game, James had 22 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists. But Brooks wasn't there to see it, having been ejected early in the third quarter for hitting James below the belt.

Sunday, Brooks sabotaged himself and his team. He sank a three-pointer to give Phoenix a 114-113 lead, with James appearing to foul him on the shot, though nothing was called. A furious Brooks then bumped James while yelling at him, drawing his second technical foul of the game and an ejection.

James missed the subsequent technical free throw, but got fouled by Devin Booker on a three-point attempt and made two of three to give the Lakers the lead and the win. It was a tough call on Booker, but Brooks opened the door for the Lakers by not being on the floor to guard James.

Dillon Brooks can take his intensity too far

When the Suns added Brooks this summer in the trade for Kevin Durant, they seem to have increased their toughness and competitiveness on the defensive end of the floor. But Brooks' intensity can backfire, like when he got called for a technical foul late in a Nov. 4 loss to the Golden State Warriors, a game he wasn't even playing in.

In last year's playoffs, Brooks' Houston Rockets were playing the Warriors when he had words with Jimmy Butler at the end of the second half. The confrontation woke up Butler, who scored 23 points in the second half of the Warriors' win, while Brooks was scoreless after the break.

Brooks had 18 points and was +12 in his 25 minutes, but his inability to keep himself from poking, shoving or yelling at bears ultimately kept him out when his team needed him most. For better or worse, that's been the Dillon Brooks experience for his whole career.