Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks received an automatic one-game suspension after he was whistled for his 16th technical foul of the season during Wednesday’s victory against the Utah Jazz.
NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars announced the suspension Thursday.
Brooks, who said he had hoped that the technical would be rescinded by the league, will be suspended for Friday’s home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is averaging 13.9 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 assists this season.
The technical came just 4 minutes, 48 seconds into the game while Brooks was trying to post up Utah’s Collin Sexton near the basket. With his back to Sexton, Brooks spun inside to attempt a turnaround jumper, but Sexton swiped the ball away before Brooks could get off the shot.
During the follow-through, Brooks kicked out his right leg, which appeared to strike Sexton near the groin. Sexton immediately doubled over in pain, as officials whistled a stop in play. After a brief review, referee Tony Brothers announced a technical foul for Brooks, resulting in a free throw for Sexton.
Once a player reaches 16 technical fouls, a potential suspension will increase by one game for every two additional technicals he receives. During the postseason, a player will need to accumulate a total of seven technical fouls before facing suspension.
Houston clinched its first postseason berth since the 2019-20 season, becoming the second team in the Western Conference to reach 50 wins.
ESPN’s Michael C. Wright contributed to this report.
Source: espn.com