Late kerfuffle, Dillon Brooks technical and flagrant shape Suns win

Phoenix and the Brooklyn Nets were chippy throughout Tuesday’s 106-102 Suns win, a late kerfuffle involving Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Terance Mann, Dillon Brooks, Egor Dёmin and others going down as the messiest moment.

O’Neale poked the ball out from behind Mann in the backcourt with Allen, Brooklyn’s Ziaire Williams and others diving for the loose ball. As Brooks reached down to take the ball from Williams, Dёmin came over to push Brooks down from above the pile.

never seen so many assistant coaches run out to the court before lmao pic.twitter.com/ybHxNbEU6C

— Cage (@ridiculouscage) January 28, 2026

The two sides jawed back and forth afterwards, landing with three technical fouls for Brooklyn (Dёmin, Mann and Michael Porter Jr., who was seen shoving Phoenix assistant DeMarre Carroll) and two for Phoenix (O’Neale and Allen).

“It was a physical game the whole time. We got each other’s backs,” O’Neale told Arizona Sports’ Kellan Olson postgame. “Every time I’m gonna defend my teammates.”

Because the Nets had more technicals from the kerfuffle, the Suns were awarded one free throw, which Allen missed to keep it a two-point Phoenix lead approaching the final minute. The game had less than 90 seconds left before the sequence, and the replay took more than eight minutes to process what had happened.

“I got pushed in the back. They made the right call when they looked at the review for a very long time. … It didn’t deserve my energy” Brooks told reporters. He called O’Neale an “OG” for the way he stepped to the forefront of the kerfuffle.

While Allen didn’t make the earlier free throw, he had the dagger layup to make it a four-point game with 11.8 seconds left coming out of a spinning drive. Brooklyn came up empty on the ensuing possession.

Phoenix survived Brooklyn, which had lost five straight entering the matchup, while playing without Devin Booker, Jalen Green or Collin Gillespie.

Suns’ Dillon Brooks on brink of suspension

It was key for Brooks to not pick up a technical in the kerfuffle, as he was called for his 15th technical foul late in the first half, putting him one away from a one-game suspension if it’s not rescinded by the league. Brooks was certain postgame it will be.

Dillon Brooks’ 15th technical, received here.

Automatic suspension upon his next received technical. https://t.co/uf4lvGFLNw pic.twitter.com/ylmDZm6pFr

— Stephen PridGeon-Garner 🏁 (@StephenPG3) January 28, 2026

“I just feel like that play wouldn’t have happened if they blew their whistle with the foul called, because it ended up being a foul call and then they had to give me a T after ’cause I’m trying to get the guy off me,” Brooks said.

Olson spoke to crew chief Curtis Blair, whom Brooks singled out postgame, for the NBA’s pool report. Blair said the technical was because Brooks pushed Dёmin to the ground after a loose ball foul and that he did not see Dёmin’s actions as instigating the push.

The technical came after a first-quarter flagrant 1 call for following through Nic Claxton’s groin while reaching for a loose ball.

FULL MOMENT: Dillon Brooks in disbelief after getting called for flagrant for going for the ball and hitting Claxton in the groin pic.twitter.com/g47DvDf38s

— NBAbzy (@nbabzyy) January 28, 2026

“They’re late on calls,” Brooks said. “When they’re not being able to make the call right away, it leads into other stuff and that’s what I think we need to work on. … It’s been like four games in a row.”

Brooks had 26 points and three assists in the win, while Mark Williams led Phoenix with 27 points on 13-for-16 shooting.

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