Dillon Brooks has tried to push the dirty player narrative onto the Warriors all through this playoff series. But after winning Game 5 to force the series to go back to San Francisco, the Rockets enforcer tacitly admitted to intentionally targeting Steph Curry’s injured thumb.
The discourse around Brooks’ method of defending Curry became a dominant storyline after Wednesday’s game, which the Rockets won 131-116. Twice in the first half, NBC Sports Bay Area announcers Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike claimed Brooks was aiming to hit Curry’s hand on purpose, using what Azubuike called a “high-five contest” and trying to hit Curry’s shooting hand on each shot attempt.