Tempers flare after Dillon Brooks chops Donovan Mitchell in the man zone

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

It got chippy in the third quarter between Cleveland and Memphis

Things got a little chippy midway through the third quarter in Thursday night’s game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Okay, maybe very chippy.

With under six minutes remaining in the third quarter, Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks drove the lane and got to the rim, but his contested layup was well off target. As both Brooks and the basketball crashed to the floor, the Memphis forward got tangled up with Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.

That’s when Brooks’ frustration perhaps got the better of him. The forward chopped at Mitchell with his left hand, catching the Cleveland guard in a sensitive area.

A very sensitive area:

As you can see from this replay angle, Brooks catches Mitchell squarely in the giblets with his left hand. Mitchell, as you might expect, took exception to the move, firing the ball at Brooks before getting back to his feet and shoving the Memphis player:

That is when the benches emptied, and tempers boiled over. In the ensuing fracas, two members of the Memphis staff came off the bench, restraining Brooks in an effort to prevent the situation from escalating further:

What might explain Mitchell’s frustration, other than, well, getting hit where he did is the fact that the Cleveland guard is working his way back from a groin injury. So, taking a shot to the man region is probably not how he wanted to spend his Thursday night.

Things eventually calmed down, but both Mitchell and Brooks were ejected.

As order was restored, TNT play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan provided this moment of levity:

BOINK!