In Saturday’s otherwise forgettable game for the Houston Rockets, head coach Ime Udoka was ejected after a late exchange of words with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
Both men received technical fouls, but because Udoka already had one from earlier in the game, he was ejected. Because James did not have an earlier technical, he stayed in.
Though both Udoka and James declined to get into specifics postgame, veteran forward Dillon Brooks offered more insight at Monday’s practice. His ire, as it often is, was directed at the NBA’s officiating crew of Tre Maddox, Dedric Taylor and J.T. Orr.
Orr was closest to the Udoka-James incident and gave the double technicals, which resulted in Udoka’s ejection.
“I tried to push LeBron out [of] the way from it, but the refs just let it get out of hand,” Brooks said. “A terrible group out there that was reffing, and they lost control of the game. It’s very inconsistent. That’s what you get from inconsistent refs, a whole bunch of nonsense.”
Dillon Brooks frustrated by the #Rockets whistle vs Lakers.
Brooks on Ime Udoka’s spat with LeBron and the subsequent ejection:
“Terrible group out there that was reffing, they lost control of the game. …That’s what you get from inconsistent refs is a whole bunch of nonsense.” pic.twitter.com/2T2uWpE8OB
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) December 4, 2023
Brooks did, however, appreciate Udoka’s efforts. As a physical, hard-nosed veteran who is working to improve Houston’s collective defense and culture, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“He wasn’t backing down to anybody,” Brooks said of Udoka. “He played the game before. We’re still finding our identity as a team and with our coach standing up for us, it’s a big thing.”
