The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder game erupted into a mini fight as the Thunder's Josh Giddey and the Rockets' Dillon Brooks exchanged pleasantries following a stoppage in the game. Brooks is certainly no stranger to on court antics, but was he at fault at all in this situation?
Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. was seated on the floor following a stoppage in the game when Giddey came over to offer him a hand up. Smith did not acknowledge Giddey at which point Giddey forcibly grabs Smith and attempts to pull him up.
Smith looked visibly upset by Giddey's actions and Brooks came running over to his teammate's aid and shoved Giddey. Everything escalated from there with players from both teams getting up in each other's faces. But who was at fault for escalating the situation? Fans on social media were visibly split between who they felt was to blame.
Some fans believed that Dillon Brooks was the one that escalated everything due to his shove and perhaps his propensity for being in the vicinity when on court altercations ensue.
Wtf wrong with Brooks😭😭
— Booming Basketball (@BoomingBBall) March 28, 2024
Rockets mad Giddey cooking them and showing sportsmanship lol
— Buck Wild (@BuckWild1072815) March 28, 2024
Other fans were split in that they saw Josh Giddey as the primary villain in the situation. In most situations, when a player refuses an opposing player's help, the opposing player just walks away and leaves it at that.
What could have escalated everything was Giddey taking it upon himself to try and pull Smith up. Maybe Brooks could have reacted differently, but a case can be made that the Rockets had a right to be upset at Giddey's actions. Some fans certainly thought so.
Giddy was a bit aggressive trying to grab his hand there lol I can see why Brooks was like that
— Kaleb Earls (@K_Earls32) March 28, 2024
Is this the first time I agree w Dillon brooks ????
— banksy (@ovobee92) March 28, 2024
It's likely that the NBA will look into the matter and it's probable that fines will be assessed once the smoke clears. But it's possible that suspensions might come down as well. The NBA has a rule that players who leave the bench during an altercation receive an automatic one game suspension.
Both the Rockets and the Thunder can't afford to lose players from this fight as they are both batting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference. The Thunder can finish at the top seed while the Rockets are making a late push for 10th and the play-in.
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