Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks Fined $25K for 'Aggressively Confronting' Ref After Ejection

The NBA fined Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks $25,000 on Friday for his actions after being ejected from Wednesday's loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Brooks was fined for "aggressively confronting a game official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner" following his ejection with 27.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The announcement made no reference to his postgame comments about the officials, which could also be subject to a fine:

"As you saw in the game, we've been playing physical basketball for about a week now. And all of a sudden, new officials come in here and they call an inconsistent game. They want to call ticky-tack in the first half and then in the second half they want to call nothing. And then you got guys getting undercut, getting hit on the floor, no call. There's a lack of protection of the players and that's the main thing, I felt like this crew came out there and just made it about them and that's bull.

"Obviously I can't put it all on them. We got to get the 50/50 balls, you got to be able to rebound the basketball, you got to be able to hit shots in timely ways. But this crew did not protect the players. They just wanted to get the game over with and that's (expletive). That's (expletive) from the very beginning. That's bull."

Friday's fine was the highest of the 25-year-old Canadian's five-year NBA career. He was previously fined a total of $72,000, mostly in $2,000 increments for technical fouls, per Spotrac. His only prior ejection came in 2018 against the Utah Jazz.

The foul numbers from a 104-96 Mavs win don't jump off the page. Memphis was called for two more fouls (23-21) but also shot a couple more free throws (25-23).

Brooks seemed more irked about inconsistency within the game, however, not that Dallas may have gained an edge through the referees' calls. He was whistled for five fouls, along with the two technicals.

The University of Oregon product had a solid outing before the ejection, tallying 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins opted against commenting on Brooks' ejection or the officiating when asked after the game, replying: "Dillon got ejected."

Brooks was placed in the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols Thursday and missed Memphis' win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The forward will need to isolate for 10 days or produce two negative tests over 24 hours if his placement in the protocols was because of a positive test. Jenkins didn't provide any further information.

Memphis (15-11) returns to action Saturday when it hosts the Houston Rockets (8-16) at the FedEx Forum.