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LeBron James has been mocked by Memphis Grizzlies star Dillon Brooks following the Los Angeles Lakers' defeat in Game 2 of their NBA Playoffs series.
The 38-year-old record points scorer in NBA history had a solid evening, putting up 28, but it wasn't enough to avoid being called out by small forward Brooks, who labeled James as too old in post-game interviews.
Brooks had been in the face of James during the game, making sure he knew about the points differential when he was on the court, but James looked unmoved as the Grizzlies star tried to get a reaction.
Classic Dillon Brooks on his confrontation with LeBron James: “I don’t care. He’s old. … I poke bears. I don’t respect someone until he gives me 40.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 20, 2023
And Brooks had plenty more to say. pic.twitter.com/uWLONrubPZ
The Lakers and Grizzlies are tied at one each after two games of their first-round series and Brooks has looked to add some spice to their clashes as they head to Los Angeles for Game 3.
Brooks has had a spiky relationship with the Lakers this season, and after the game he told the press that James is past his sell-by date.
The Grizzlies star said: "I don't care. He's old. ... I poke bears. I don't respect no one 'til they come and give me 40."
Brooks himself was just 5 of 14 from the field for 12 points, so may not have been in a position to throw insults at a future Hall of Famer but his teammate, Xavier Tillman, put in a stellar display, scoring a career-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds.
Desmond Bane also added 18 as the Grizzlies beat the Lakers 103-93 despite star guard Ja Morant being sidelined by an injured hand.
Morant had hurt his hand in the April 7 win over Milwaukee and aggravated it again when he collided with Anthony Davis in the first game against the Lakers.
He used his hand to break his fall and needed an MRI scan after the game to ascertain the damage.
Morant was declared inactive before the game and watched from courtside with his hand bandaged.
Newly anointed NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. also contributed 18 points to the win, with the series looking like it will be coming back to Memphis for Game 5.
The decision to leave out Morant had been a last-minute one, with head coach Taylor Jenkins telling reporters ahead of the game: "He's dealing with some pain and some soreness. Symptoms are slightly improving from the other night.
"He's going to be a game-time decision. He's going to come in, get working in the morning, test it out and see how he's feeling."
"He's progressing," Jenkins said. "He's dribbling and shooting as much as he can. As I said, he's got some pain he's dealing with, so it's kind of a tolerance thing.
"He's got some stiffness in his hand that he's kind of slowly getting through. We'll see how he wakes up."
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Morant woke up with his hand still in pain, but the second seeds showed why they are fancied to win the championship by winning without their star man.
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