If you tuned in to watch the below strength Phoenix Suns outlast the Brooklyn Nets 106-102, then you'll know it was a physical battle that boiled over near the end of the game.
A scuffle resulting in a cleared bench for Phoenix (just so many assistant coaches on the court...) and a whopping six technical fouls called throughout the contest.
Dillon Brooks believes his 15th technical will be rescinded
For those that didn't watch, it will come as no surprise to learn that Dillon Brooks was one of the players who received a technical, although it did come before the two teams clashed, which takes him to 15 on the season. One more, and he will be suspended for a game.
Not that Brooks thinks he'll be leading the league in that category for long, as he confidently told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that he expects the tech to be overturned.
Dillon Brooks believes the tech he drew tonight vs Nets to give him 15 will be rescinded.
Tech for making contact with Nic Claxton groin area reaching for the basketball in 1st half.
On flagrant 1: "That play wouldn't have happened if they blew their whistle."
Brooks later… pic.twitter.com/4dpfAkQvrt
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 28, 2026
As he sees it, the play with Nic Claxton in the first-half in which he made contact with the groin area and which led to the technical had similarities to another play later in the game.
That one involved his teammate Royce O'Neale and Michael Porter Jr., yet nothing was called. If the referees only used their whistle on his play Brooks mused, a technical wouldn't have been called.
Putting that out there is exactly why the tech likely won't be overturned, even though he has a point. Questioning the referees in any way rarely goes well for the person that does it.
Brooks also, for better or worse, has a reputation throughout the NBA already, so he is both more likely to get called for fouls during these moments and less likely to have subsequent reviews go his way.
In fairness he has already had one taken away which was given during a game versus the Miami Heat earlier this month, but it is unlikely he is going to be so lucky this time around.
The Suns need Brooks to play with this level of aggression and intensity, especially when they're missing three starters, and skirting along the line is just a part of the Brooks experience.
They also won the game and got a monster performance out of Mark Williams in the process, so it is not like this was a low point on the season. If anything that kind of fight and not backing down is exactly why the Suns will make the playoffs.
But perhaps confidently telling the media that a tech is going to be rescinded directly after a game isn't the move, although if it is we'll gladly eat our words (just not a tweet...).