Dillon Brooks was not a popular man at Chase Center on Monday night, to say the least.
The Grizzlies wing was heavily booed by the Warriors faithful during pregame introductions ahead of Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals, as he was back in the starting lineup after serving a suspension during Game 3 for his hard foul that broke Gary Payton II’s elbow.
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Boos also rained down every time Brooks touched the ball. Fans cheered a little bit louder when his first shot attempt resulted in an airball.
Brooks, who didn’t speak to the media until Monday afternoon, said he would take back the foul if he could and didn’t mean to hurt Payton.
But the 26-year-old defended himself against Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s accusations that Brooks “broke the code” by fouling Payton from behind while the guard was going up for a dunk in Game 2.
Golden State Warriors
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“No reaction,” Brooks said to reporters. “I don’t even really know what that means. It’s the playoffs. Every bucket, every basket, every possession, every play counts. So, I did not understand what he meant by that.”
It’s safe to say that Warriors fans at Chase Center for Game 4 knew what that meant.