WATCH: Rockets Dillon Brooks stares Tyrese Haliburton down while standing over him after scoring
Dillon Brooks has done it again. The Houston Rockets defensive tone-setter has found his next target. This time it is Indiana Pacers rising superstar Tyrese Haliburton. And as usual, the clip of the incident has gone viral.
With 2 minutes left in the 1st half, Jalen Green launches a pass toward Brooks with the Rockets leading 61-58 against the Pacers. The angle of the pass made the following shot from Brooks tough to finish. Brooks did finish the tough shot. A trailing Haliburton lost his footing while trying to stop the Canadian International from the back. After falling to the ground, Brooks stopped, bent a little, and then stared down and bumped Haliburton as he tried to get up.
Dillon Brooks has been in the news more for his antics than his game so far. Last season he had a ‘poking the bear’ moment in the playoffs against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. That incident did not end well for Brooks and his former team the Memphis Grizzlies. Since then, he has been on the hunt for his next targets.
There have been incidents with James again, then the Denver Nuggets, and a few others along the way. The Rockets and their head coach Ime Udoka, prefer his antics to affect their game positively. The Rockets are also without any proper superstars. Hence, a bit of bite in their game could do them no harm. At least that is what they are hoping for.
How the game unfolded after Brooks’ staredown
The Indiana Pacers were trailing at the half. But a third-quarter blowout and subsequent fourth-quarter play saw the Pacers win the game 123-117. Haliburton seemingly did not get fazed by the staredown and finished with 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Pacers. Myles Turner chipped in 18 points and 5 rebounds. The Pacers were helped by 8 of their 9 players on the court today finishing in double-digit points.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 30 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 assists. Fred VanVleet added 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists. The Rockets in comparison had only half of their players finishing in double digits. Brooks suffered an abdominal injury in the second half and could not continue.
While Brooks has been consistently in the news for his antics, the challenge now is to back it up with high-level performances. So for, that has not happened, although fans are bound to be fond of the kind of altercations he has been involved in.
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