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Grizzles' Dillon Brooks suspended, Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell fined after fight

Things turned ugly during Thursday's Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies game. And now the league is dishing out punishment.

On Friday, NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars announced the Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks would be suspended one game following an altercation with the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, who was fined $20,000 for his involvement.

Both players were ejected from Thursday’s matchup at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The incident happened with 5:48 left in the third quarter as the Cavs were up 81-76. Evan Mobley blocked Brooks' driving layup. Mitchell rebounded the ball, but was hit in the groin by Brooks. The low blow appeared to be inadvertent, but referees later determined it was intentional and assessed a Flagrant Foul 2.

The league said Brooks "initiated the altercation by striking Mitchell in the groin area in an unsportsmanlike manner." He will be suspended without pay.

Mitchell retaliated by throwing the ball at Brooks. He then shoved Brooks and pushed him to the ground. Mitchell was subsequently ejected from the game.

The scuffle happened right in front of the Grizzles' bench, but no Memphis players came off the bench, which would have resulted in more suspensions.

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Cavs head coach J. B. Bickerstaff rallied his team following the ejection of Mitchell.

"Now we got to play through it. We can't have a letdown," Bickerstaff said to his team in the huddle. "They are going to let us scrap, they are going to call the whistle heavy. We have to be smart… But that means we have to grind even more."

Bickerstaff later told TNT sideline reporter Stephanie Ready that the incident "is what it is," adding that players "have to stand up for themselves."

Dillon Brooks fights with Donovan Mitchell during Thursday night's Grizzlies-Cavaliers game.
Dillon Brooks fights with Donovan Mitchell during Thursday night's Grizzlies-Cavaliers game.

Mitchell was having a rough night before his early exit. He had six points in 22 minutes of action, shooting a dismal 2-for-11 from the field and 2-for-4 from three. Brooks had nine points in 22 minutes of play, shooting 2-for-5 from the field and 0-for-1 from three.

The Cavaliers won the game, 128-113.

Brooks will serve out his suspension Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.

The Grizzles have been involved in several dust-ups recently. Last month, several Memphis players got into an altercation with Fox Sports personality and Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe at the Los Angeles Lakers' Crypto.com Arena.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Grizzles' Dillon Brooks suspended after fight with Donovan Mitchell