Dillon Brooks’ first game with the Houston Rockets proved costly.
The NBA announced Thursday a $25,000 fine to Brooks for “acting recklessly” in making contact with Daniel Theis during Tuesday’s preseason game. This incident led to his expulsion.
Brooks was ejected just 4:33 minutes into his first game with the Rockets, the team he signed with as a free agent this offseason, for a flagrant foul 2 on Theis.
After the Rockets’ victory, Brooks said he had not intended to hit Theis and blamed the ejection on his reputation.
“I tried to get around a screen,” Brooks said, the Houston breaking latest news reported. “I may have touched him slightly below the belt. But he immediately got up. I don’t know, it’s weird that every time it happens to me, he gets picked on. I guess it’s a reputation thing.”
“For a flagrant foul 2 like that, you have to figure out whether a person is doing it on purpose or with intent. This really calls into question who I am as a person. That referee, Mitch [Ervin], it just shows that he doesn’t know who I really am. She’s just moving forward based on what was said.”