The Memphis Grizzlies, after their dispiriting end to the 2022-23 season, decided that they were not going to bring Dillon Brooks back. Amid all the Ja Morant hullabaloo, Brooks' antics proved to be more distracting than endearing. The Grizzlies then let Brooks sign a huge deal with the Houston Rockets in free agency — and Brooks, on Friday night in his first game back in FedEx Forum since his move, proved that letting him go might have been a grave mistake for the Grizzlies.

In what was a defensive affair between the Rockets and the Grizzlies, it was Brooks who stole the show. Brooks scored 24 of his 26 points on the night in the second half, going 10-20 from the field as the only Houston starter to shoot above 50 percent from the field in their 103-96 win over the Memphis.

And with the game hanging in the balance late in the fourth, it was Dillon Brooks who knocked down the game-sealing three-pointer. With 40 seconds left, Brooks nailed the dagger that put the Rockets up by five, and he, deservedly, talked some smack towards a Grizzlies team that could certainly use him at the moment.

“That’s why they paid me four for 80 [million dollars]!” Brooks screamed out after his clutch shot, according to Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal.

Leading the team in scoring and nailing clutch shots isn't exactly what the Rockets paid Dillon Brooks to do. Brooks earned his dough because of his lockdown defensive capabilities, and he has certainly helped in ushering the Rockets' turnaround in that department.

After their win over the Grizzlies, the Rockets rank second in defensive rating, only trailing the elite Minnesota Timberwolves. Brooks isn't a singular transformative force on defense, but it's clear that teams that boast his services take after his identity.

All of Dillon Brooks' offensive contributions, at this point, is just the icing on top of every positive contribution he's had for the Rockets franchise. But on a night where Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., and Jalen Green were all below par, Brooks certainly showed that he can step up when it matters — with, perhaps, the added motivation of showing the Grizzlies what they're missing.