Things turned ugly during the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies game.
The Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell and Grizzlies’ Dillion Brooks were both ejected from Thursday’s matchup at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse after the two players were involved in a scuffle that spilled into the stands.
The incident happened with 5:48 left in the third quarter as the Cavs were up 81-76. Evan Mobley blocked Brooks’ driving layup. Donovan Mitchell rebounded the ball, but was hit in the groin by Brooks. The low blow appeared to be inadvertent, but referees later determined it was intentional.
Mitchell retaliated by throwing the ball at Brooks. He then shoved Brooks and pushed him to the ground. Mitchell was subsequently ejected from the game.
The scuffle happened right in front of the Grizzles’ bench, but no Memphis players came off the bench, which would have resulted in more ejections.
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Cavs head coach J. B. Bickerstaff rallied his team following the ejection of Mitchell.
“Now we got to play through it. We can’t have a letdown,” Bickerstaff said to his team in the huddle. “There are going to let us scrap, they are going to call the whistle heavy. We have to be smart… But that means we have to grind even more.”
Bickerstaff later told TNT sideline reporter Stephanie Ready that the incident “is what it is,” adding that players “have to stand up for themselves.”
Mitchell was having a rough night before his early exit. He had six points in 22 minutes of action, shooting a dismal 2-for-11 from the field and 2-for-4 from three. Brooks had 9 points in 22 minutes of play, shooting 2-for-5 from the field and 0-for-1 from three.
The Cavaliers won the game, 128-113.
The Grizzles have been involved in several dust-ups recently. Last month, several Memphis players got into an altercation with Fox Sports personality and Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe at the Los Angeles Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena.
Story Credit: usatoday.com