Dillon Brooks delivered a heated postgame response after the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-107 in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round series on Wednesday at Paycom Center, giving OKC a 2-0 lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 37 points and nine assists, while Brooks paced Phoenix with 30 points before fouling out.
Brooks immediately shifted attention to officiating, questioning transparency and control in playoff games. “To be honest, I don’t know if y’all should be interviewing the officials for real,” he said. “Officials got to explain themselves because it’s getting ridiculous.”
He continued by calling for accountability at the league level, escalating his criticism beyond the court. “That’s why y’all should be interviewing them. Be honest. Let’s go to Adam Silver. Let’s get some interviews for the chief that’s out there because accountability needs to be shown out there,” Brooks said.
Brooks also addressed his defensive matchup with Gilgeous-Alexander, using blunt language while describing physical play in the series. “It’s a little frail. That’s what the wrestling call is. I got to be smarter about it. But this is the playoffs, man’s game,” he said.
He expanded on how he views playoff basketball, comparing it to earlier eras of the league. “I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing or whoever else, when LeBron was younger. This is physical basketball,” Brooks said. “I don’t get why all the dropping and the flopping and the flailing and all this stuff is allowed to get to the playoffs.”
Brooks also criticized how games are being decided, pointing to free throws and stoppages in play. “Don’t decide the games on free throws,” he said. “You got to earn the sport of basketball to win or get stops to win, not just flailing and going to the line and stoppage of play.”
He added that turnovers and execution were also factors in the Suns’ loss, while maintaining his stance on officiating inconsistencies. “I got to look back at it and see if they’re really fouls. But all I know is when I was watching… it’s straight physical basketball.”
Brooks also referenced the challenge of getting explanations from referees during games. “I can’t. You got to ask somebody else,” he said. “If I get too rowdy, all they want to do is, ‘Oh, that’s legal… or this or that. Bunch of excuses.’”
Despite the rivalry tone, Brooks acknowledged the competitive context between himself and Gilgeous-Alexander. “On the court, I don’t care who it is. Could be anybody on the court going right at you,” he said.
The Thunder maintained control through efficiency and defense, shooting 47.3% from the field while forcing 21 turnovers, as Oklahoma City extended its series lead heading into Game 3.
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