Dillon Brooks Calls Draymond a 'Dirty Player,' Defends Amen Thompson on Butler Injury

Houston Rockets wing Dillon Brooks called Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green a "dirty player" and defended his teammate Amen Thompson, who upended Dubs forward Jimmy Butler in Game 2 of the teams' NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series, forcing him to leave the game due to injury.

"No, I think the dirty player is Draymond [Green], giving him a little push as regular basketball players do," Brooks said, per Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press. "And Jimmy's fighting in the air for a rebound and stuff happens. Amen's not a dirty player. He has [nothing] to do with being a dirty player."

The play in question happened in Game 2. Butler went up for a defensive rebound after Thompson missed a shot. However, Thompson, who was nudged by Green as he rushed for an offensive board, ended up taking out Butler's legs. Both players stayed down for a moment before Butler left the game for good.

Butler suffered a pelvis and deep gluteal muscle contusion, per the Warriors. He is questionable for Game 3 on Saturday.

Brooks had more to say on Green, who was the subject of a profane fan chant during Game 2.

He also wished for good health for Butler, providing this response when asked about outside noise.

"We're not worried about that," he said. "We're on to the next game and we hope Jimmy can get better."

Brooks has a reputation as a dirty player in his own right, something that Warriors guard Moses Moody alluded to when asked about the Rocket veteran's comments, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.

Thankfully, Butler has a chance to play Saturday, and the hope is that he'll be back to good health and available ASAP. But it's clear this series, which was already incredibly physical, has some added juice given what happened in Game 2, coupled with Brooks' comments.

Game 3 will go down in San Francisco's Chase Center on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The best-of-seven series is tied at one game apiece.