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[Saba Sports News] Anthony Edwards and Dillon Brooks went head-to-head in a heated battle during Thursday night’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets, but Edwards felt Brooks took things too far.
The two had to be separated multiple times during Minnesota’s 127-114 win at Target Center, with Edwards dominating the matchup, finishing with 41 points to Brooks’ 15.
While Edwards welcomed the trash talk, he took issue with what he called Brooks’ “dirty” antics.
“I love the competing part, but all the little slick, little dirty s– … like, he hit me in the face and then I fell and he like, ‘How much crying you gonna do?’” Edwards said after the game. “I’m like, ‘Bro, you hit me in my motherf–ing face. What you want me to do?’ I just don’t like that part. Don’t do something and then act like you didn’t do it.”
Edwards added that Brooks “thinks he has a reputation for punking people.”
Tensions boiled over in the second quarter when Edwards and Brooks had to be separated, leading to Brooks receiving a technical foul for flopping on the next possession. Later, Edwards drilled a three-pointer over Brooks and made sure to let him hear about it.
Brooks, unsurprisingly, had a different take. He blamed the officiating for favoring Edwards.
“He was just getting his whistle called. Curtis and Matt calling all these calls, calling flopping. It’s ridiculous,” Brooks said. “When a guy goes to the line 18 times, you can’t guard him. When is the defense ever gonna get rewarded?”
For the record, Edwards actually attempted 15 free throws, making 14. Brooks will likely face a fine for his officiating criticism, adding to his history of penalties this season.
While Brooks is having a solid year with the Rockets, shooting a career-best 38.7% from three, his reputation as an agitator continues to follow him—especially after another recent dust-up with a different NBA star.