Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks defended Amen Thompson from being labeled a dirty player for undercutting Jimmy Butler, whose hard fall in Game 2 led to a deep glute muscle contusion.
Brooks instead passed the blame on Butler’s teammate, Golden State Warriors star forward Draymond Green.
“No, I think the dirty player is Draymond, giving [Amen] a little push,” Brooks told reporters following Friday’s practice. “Jimmy was fighting there for a rebound, and stuff happens. Amen is not a dirty player. He has nothing to do with being a dirty player. We’re not worried about them. We hope Jimmy can get better.”
There’s been a narrative floating around that Amen Thompson is a dirty player following the play that resulted in Jimmy Butler’s injury.
Asked Dillon Brooks about it:
“I think the dirty player is Draymond giving him a little push… We hope Jimmy can get better.” pic.twitter.com/8JlkMX5vch
— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) April 25, 2025
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Butler awkwardly landed hard on his back in a scary fall with 1:51 left in the first quarter after Thompson collided with him underneath the basket.
While Butler’s X-ray and MRI results came back negative, his status for Game 3 is questionable.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr cleared Thompson of any wrongdoing in Butler’s injury.
“I haven’t seen the replay,” Kerr told reporters when asked what he thought of Thompson colliding with Butler. “I asked our guys behind the bench, and they just said it looked like there was some physicality on the rebound, and I think Thompson just inadvertently found himself underneath Jimmy just based on the tug-of-war that was going on there. So we didn’t think there was anything wrong with the play.”
Dillon Brooks-Draymond Green Beef
Brooks and Green have a long history of animosity dating back when the former was still with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Their longstanding beef originated when Brooks bluntly said in a 2023 ESPN story, “I don’t like Draymond at all.”
“I just don’t like Golden State. I don’t like anything to do with them. Draymond talks a lot. Gets away with a lot, too. His game is cool — with Golden State — but if you put him anywhere else, you’re not going to know who Draymond is. He plays with heart, plays hard, knows the ins and outs of their defense. I guess that’s why they like him over there.”
Green responded on his own podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” dissing Brooks that he “wouldn’t like a team that beats me all the time either” and that he “isn’t sure” that Brooks’ teammates like him.
“If you ever wondered why the Memphis Grizzlies is not ready to compete for a championship, look no further than this idiot right here. They’re actually depending on this guy to help them win a championship,” Green said. “And he says his game is cool. Quite frankly, that just shows how little you know about basketball. And yet you running around talking about a dynasty? The dynasty starts after you, not with you.”
.@Money23Green responds to Dillon Brooks’ comments pic.twitter.com/cHu7R9A5nf
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 8, 2023
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It turns out Green was right. The Grizzlies let Brooks walk and he joined the Rockets.
Their back-and-forth continued on the court as they got into it in Game 2.
Draymond Green Responds to ‘Dirty Play’ Accusations
It was not only Brooks who thought Green was to blame of Butler’s injury.
Rick Kamla, a former NBA TV host, initially accused Green of “taking out” Butler.
Draymond took out his own teammate tonight.
I guess Butler was stealing too much of the spotlight. 🤣
— Rick Kamla (@RickKamlaSports) April 24, 2025
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But video replays showed Green was indeed trying to box out Thompson and did not push him toward Butler, which he was wrongly accused of.
Kamla later corrected himself after watching the video replay.
“Good point. I stand corrected. Amen played some football with Butler,” Kamla wrote on X in a reply to a fan, who posted the video replay of the accident that led to Butler’s injury.
Green kept mum about his involvement in Butler’s hard fall.
“I was trying to box out Thompson, and somehow he ended up under Jimmy’s legs,” Green told reporters after the Warriors’ Game 2 loss. “I don’t know, I didn’t see it.”
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