MEMPHIS, Tenn. — LeBron James sank a turn-around, fadeaway jumper over Dillon Brooks in the third quarter of the Grizzlies 103-93 win over the Lakers in Game 2. That's when Brooks says James called him "dumb" for picking up his fourth foul earlier in the quarter. It was the moment the Grizzlies lead antagonist had been waiting for.
"Finally, you want to talk!" Brooks replied. He would not be fazed by the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
"I don't care, he's old," Brooks said of James. "I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they come and give me 40."
Brooks said he hopes James will want to continue talking in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.
"Then I just let him know, 'You can't take me 1-on-1. You haven't,'" he said. "You can go look at the film, he doesn't take me 1-on-1 until that moment. Then when he got subbed out he was tired, so I did my job."
Brooks, who last week told reporters he "wouldn't mind playing LeBron in a seven-game series," appeared disappointed by the four-time MVP's efforts through Game 2.
"He's not at the same level as he was when he was on Cleveland, when he was winning championships in Miami," Brooks said of James, who finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's loss. "I wish got to see that. It would've been a harder task, but I'm playing with what I got."
Brooks acknowledged that he has respect for James; even calling him a "legend." But when he competing against him, James is "just another player."
"I had those moments in year one and two, where it's like, 'Oh, he’s glowing. He’s shining.' Now I’m creating a name for myself," Brooks said. "You can’t be looking these guys like he’s LeBron James, he’s just another basketball player. I’m ready for the challenge every single night."
His comments are sure to rile up Lakers fans ahead of Saturday's Game 3 in Los Angeles. Brooks is counting on it.
"They booed me when I was there before. I get booed everywhere I go. It doesn't matter to me. Just gets me going," he said. "It just goes to show that people know the name and they got to boo the name, Dillon Brooks."