Dillon Brooks stands round awkwardly when Kyrie Irving refuses to take his jersey

Kyrie Irving and Dillon Brooks did a jersey swap after the Dallas Mavericks (36-36) blew a double-digit result in the Memphis Grizzlies (44-27) Monday evening at FedExForum.

Effectively, type of, since Irving wished no half in taking Brooks’ jersey. The Grizzlies guard stood round awkwardly for a second attempting to course of what had simply occurred. He ultimately moved on to greet different gamers whereas carrying two jerseys round.

In his postgame press convention, Irving provided a brief rationalization of why he left Brooks hanging.

“Most likely get it subsequent time,” Irving stated. “Not this time. I used to be actually onto the subsequent factor.”

The “subsequent factor” was sharing an extended embrace with Ja Morant, who returned to the sidelines for the primary time since his suspension.

Kyrie Irving vs. Dillon Brooks

The Irving-Brooks battle, nonetheless, was the spotlight of the evening. Their heated faceoff acquired began early on and carried over to the ultimate stretch of the competition.

Irving scored 20 of his 28 factors within the first half, however was held to 0-for-9 capturing within the fourth quarter.

Brooks, who completed the evening with simply 9 factors, tripped Irving within the third body and the Mavs star was strolling round with a boot after the sport.

He defined that it was simply precautionary, however did blame Brooks for reaggravating his foot in that play.

Dillon Brooks, the brand new NBA villain

Previous to the match, Brooks expressed his pleasure of Luka Doncic being out, saying he wished Irving to himself.

Brooks has managed to begin beef with everybody he faces as of late, changing into the most-hated participant within the NBA.

His damaging vitality is probably going one thing Irving does not need to carry round with him, therefore the jersey snub. Brooks, alternatively, stated he was going to signal and grasp his opponent’s uniform.

One among his most up-to-date incidents on the ever-expanding record occurred towards the Miami Warmth when he pushed a cameraman to the bottom.