HOUSTON (AP) — Some have questioned whether Houston's Amen Thompson is a dirty player after Warriors star Jimmy Butler was injured in a scary fall during Game 2 when the Rockets guard took out the legs of the Golden State forward on a hard foul.
Thompson's teammate, Dillon Brooks, had other thoughts on the subject when asked about it Friday ahead of Saturday’s Game 3.
“No, I think the dirty player is Draymond (Green), giving him a little push as regular basketball players do,” Brooks said. “And Jimmy’s fighting in the air for a rebound and stuff happens. Amen’s not a dirty player. He has (nothing) to do with being a dirty player.”
Butler was listed as questionable Friday, a day ahead of the game at Chase Center. An MRI exam revealed he injured his pelvis and has a deep gluteal muscle contusion, the team said. Butler sustained a pelvic contusion in the 109-94 loss that tied the first round series at 1-1.
Green was named the winner of the 2024-25 NBA Hustle Award on Friday.
Brooks said the Rockets must keep their focus on Game 3 and not be concerned about what people are saying about them.
“We’re not worried about that,” he said. “We’re on to the next game and we hope Jimmy can get better.”
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said after the game that he doesn’t believe Thompson intended to hurt Butler.
“We didn’t think there was anything wrong with the play,” Kerr said. “It was just one of those plays.”
When told Friday that Brooks called Green dirty, Kerr said: “Dillon said that? Interesting.”
Then with Memphis three years ago, Brooks' Flagrant 2 foul on Gary Payton II during Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals of the Warriors’ championship run in 2022 fractured Payton's elbow. He returned for Game 2 of Golden State’s six-game NBA Finals victory over Boston.
Houston coach Ime Udoka weighed in on the play Friday.
“It’s obvious it wasn’t intentional,” he said. “You look at all the bodies in between and him getting bumped and tripped and the way he fell. You don’t fall into somebody face first on purpose.”
Wednesday’s game became a bit chippy with players from both teams getting technical fouls in the second half and Houston’s Jalen Green receiving a flagrant foul when he flailed an arm into Draymond Green’s face.
“Amen’s obviously not a dirty player,” Udoka said. “There’s a difference between aggressive, physical play and being dirty and you could question some of their things as well on their on their end.”
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AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this story.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press
