Donovan Mitchell-Dillon Brooks NBA brawl: Why it happened, ejections that followed, and all you need to know

Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dillon Brooks of the Memphis Grizzlies got into a small brawl in their game on Thursday night. Mitchell and Brooks were both ejected, with the Cavaliers getting a 128-113 win at home.

With under six minutes left in the third quarter, Brooks went up for a layup and got blocked by Evan Mobley. He was knocked down to the floor and appeared to hit Mitchell in the groin.

Mitchell responded by throwing the ball at Brooks as both players got into a fight. Players and coaches came in to separate them and clear the melee. After a lengthy review, Brooks was called for a Flagrant 2, which is an automatic ejection, and Mitchell was thrown out for his part in the brawl.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were up 81-76 when Donovan Mitchell, their best player, was ejected. The Memphis Grizzlies crawled their way back after being down double-digits to start the second half.

However, the Cavaliers were fired up after the brawl and used it to close the quarter on an 11-2 run. Memphis were unable to cut the deficit, losing their seventh game in their last 10.

Mitchell finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists before his ejection. Darius Garland picked up the slack with 32 points and 11 assists, while Jarrett Allen had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Evan Mobley also had a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Ja Morant had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Grizzlies. Desmond Bane added 22 points, while Santi Aldama contributed 21 points and 10 rebounds in the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. Dillon Brooks had nine points before getting thrown out.

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Donovan Mitchell goes off on Dillon Brooks after the game

Dillon Brooks and Donovan Mitchell

Donovan Mitchell went after Dillon Brooks in his postgame news conference. Mitchell noted that he's familiar with Brooks during his time with the Utah Jazz. The All-Star guard also took a shot at Brooks by giving the notion that he can't guard him.

"That's just who he is," Mitchell said. "We've seen it a bunch in this league with him. He and I have had our personal battles for years. Quite frankly, I've been busting his ass for years. ... There's no place for that in the game. You have to protect yourself at the end of the day."

Mitchell was clearly upset with Brooks, who seemingly hit him in the groin area that resulted in the scuffle. Less than two weeks ago, Brooks and the Memphis Grizzlies got into it with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe on the sidelines against the LA Lakers.

"It's bullsh*t if I'm being honest with you," Mitchell said. "It's complete bullsh*t to be honest with you. When you start doing cheap sh*t like that, that ain't it."