CLEVELAND — The NBA has fined Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell $20,000 and suspended Memphis Grizzlies wingman Dillon Brooks for one game following a brawl between both players Thursday night.
During the third quarter of Cleveland's 128-113 win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Brooks missed a layup and fell to the floor before striking Mitchell — who was standing near him — in the groin with his left hand. Mitchell then retaliated by throwing the basketball at Brooks and shoving him back to the ground, and both teams subsequently tried to separate the two.
In its announcement of the punishments, the league made clear Brooks "initiated the altercation" with his "unsportsmanlike" actions, although officials did reprimand Mitchell for "escalat[ing] the situation." Brooks was issued a Flagrant 2 foul ("unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent") and ejected, while Mitchell was also thrown out after receiving a technical foul.
Despite losing their All-Star, the Cavs rallied and blew the game open for a resounding victory, with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff eventually awarding Mitchell the team's "Junkyard Dog" chain for "scrappy" play. In his postgame comments to the media, Mitchell blasted Brooks' behavior, claiming he and others have "seen it a bunch in this league with him."
"Quite frankly, I’ve been busting his a-- for years," Mitchell said of the pair's battles over the years. "There's no place for that in the game. You've got to protect yourself, at the end of the day, but this has been brewing for years."
The NBA says Brooks will serve his suspension immediately when Memphis hosts the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. The 27-year-old has thus far refused to discuss the incident.