The NBA has officially chimed in on the LeBron James-Dillon Brooks controversy from Sunday’s game.
James and the Los Angeles Lakers faced off against Brooks and the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz. on Sunday. It was a back-and-forth affair during which Phoenix battled back from a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter and even briefly took the lead before the Lakers regained the upper hand and won by a 116-114 final score.
One particular moment in the final moments of the game drew scrutiny online. The Suns swingman Brooks made a go-ahead three-pointer over the Lakers star James with 12.2 seconds remaining and was knocked to the ground by James’ contest. Brooks was irate that no foul was called against James on the play and proceeded to take out his frustration by running up to James and bumping him.
The former All-Defensive selection Brooks was called for a technical foul on the play (which meant an automatic ejection since he had already picked one up earlier in the game). Here is the video.
Dillon Brooks has been ejected.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 15, 2025
pic.twitter.com/EPZgaeVTUY
On Monday, the NBA rendered its verdict on the last two-minute (L2M) report for the game. The league ruled that it was a correct no-call (CNC) by the officials because James had contested to the side and Brooks had effectively initiated the contact by extending his leg towards James.
Last Two-Minute report on LeBron James non-call on Dillon Brooks 3 to give Suns a 114-113 lead in 116-114 loss to Lakers.
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 15, 2025
CNC (Correct Non Call).
Explanation: James (LAL) contests to the side of Brooks (PHX) and would avoid making contact if not for Brooks extending his left… pic.twitter.com/IvicQoSolf
Instead of one free throw for Brooks (if a foul had been called on the play), it was the Lakers who instead got one free throw because of Brooks’ technical foul. James went on to miss that free throw but eventually made two others to give his team the win after being fouled in the act of shooting by Phoenix’s Devin Booker on the next possession.
Brooks and James got extremely heated with each other throughout Sunday’s game and were seen exchanging trash talk multiple times. That makes perfect sense too given their negative history with one another, which was even on display during their previous meeting in Los Angeles earlier this month.
