Lakers News: Dillon Brooks Ejected During Second Half Of Game 3

Good riddance.

Just 17 seconds into the third quarter of a critical Game 3 playoff matchup at Crypto.com Arena, full-time irritant and sometime basketball player Dillon Brooks was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the bout for good after hitting Los Angeles Lakers All-Star small forward LeBron James in the groin.

Here's the shot:

Dillon Brooks was ejected for this low blow on LeBron James pic.twitter.com/pCXLbCxaW8

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 23, 2023

In a weird way, Brooks' ejection actually helped his Grizzlies, as he had been chirping at James incessantly to no real effect while missing a whole bunch of buckets throughout the game. To that point in the game (i.e. through its first two quarters), James had scored 12 points and pulled down five boards even with Brooks defending him.

Brooks was replaced by rookie swingman David Roddy. He finishes the night with just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field, two rebounds and a steal in 19:10 of action.

The Lakers led the Grizzlies by as much as 29 points in the contest's first half, but have since allowed Memphis back into the game a bit. A lot of that comeback happened in the absence of Brooks. Los Angeles is currently leading 75-59 midway through the third frame.

Los Angeles and Memphis split the series' first two games, at FedEx Forum, leaving the best-of-seven matchup knotted at 1-1. Thus far, LA's role players have really stepped up at home.

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