The Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets matchup was expected to be a chirpy one. Basketball enthusiasts believed the LeBron James-Dillon Brooks head-to-head battle would witness at least one altercation. As many rightly predicted, there was a moment in the clash when things got heated. However, much to everyone’s surprise, the party involved in the incident, along with LeBron, was not Brooks. It was the Rockets’ head coach Ime Udoka.
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During the final period of the clash, quite randomly, LeBron James and Ime Udoka got into an argument. As James crossed the Rockets’ team bench, it seemed as though Udoka began the conversation. In no time, the referee present on the spot awarded both of them with technical fouls. Picking up his second technical for the squabble, the 46-year-old coach was ejected from the duel.
Over the past few days, the entire basketball world was trying to figure out the details of their conversation. Finally, people can stop it with their speculations as an X (formerly “Twitter”) user has revealed the leaked audio. Take a look at the comments passed:
Udoka: “Stop crying like b*tches, man.”
LeBron: “We’re all grown men, that b*tch word ain’t cool.”
Udoka: “Soft a** boy, stop b*tching. Acting like you’re gonna do something.”
Despite getting outscored in the second half, the Los Angeles Lakers held on and grabbed a 107-97 victory. Putting up 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists was all it took for LBJ to co-led the Purple & Gold, alongside Anthony Davis, to clinch their 12th win of the season.
The LeBron James-Dillon Brooks rivalry has sparked interest in the Lakers-Rockets matchup
Over the past few years, the LeBron James-Dillon Brooks rivalry has become pretty intense. This rivalry first began when Brooks was still a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. At the time, during the Lakers-Grizzlies matchup, the guard would constantly find new ways of frustrating the King. However, things escalated during the 2023 postseason.
After Game 2 of the first round of the playoff, Dillon Brooks directed some nasty comments towards James. Talking about their confrontation from the contest, the two-way guard kept attacking LBJ for being old.
“I don’t care. He’s old,” Brooks said. “He wanted to say something after I got my fourth foul, he should have been saying that earlier on. I poke bears. I don’t respect anyone until they come and give me 40.”
Due to this James-Brooks rivalry, the Lakers’ duel with the Rockets has become much more interesting. Early in the season, the two teams met on three separate occasions, with LeBron and co. having won two. They will play their fourth and final contest of the regular season on January 29th.
Surprisingly, Brooks and LBJ weren’t as chirpy as they usually are. Instead, guys like Fred VanVleet, Cam Reddish, and Tari Eason got into it.
Well, we can certainly expect Brooks to try to get under Bron’s skin the next time they face each other.
