LeBron James mocks Dillon Brooks as ‘too small’ during Lakers win

Last season’s matchup between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks didn’t suggest any sort of rivalry. LeBron and the Lakers, with help from Brooks and the Grizzlies, defeated Memphis in the first round.

A performance like this only makes Brooks look worse. He was sad, never stopped talking, got ejected from a game, and ultimately, watched the Lakers win by 40 points in the final game.

But none of that logic stopped Brooks. In the two’s first meeting in Houston, Brooks and the Rockets had the better result against an outnumbered and smaller Lakers team.

The Rockets saw a very different version of LeBron and the Lakers on Sunday, though, as evidenced by their fifth win in six games.

Early on, LeBron showed a more energetic performance, including a sizable reaction on a layup opportunity in the first half.

That miss was the exception on the night as LeBron finished with 37 points on 19-of-14 shooting. He hasn’t been quiet about his score either.

The matchup with Brooks did seem to add some extra energy to LeBron’s night. True to form, Brooks tried to piss off LeBron. LeBron had some success Sunday when he used a rare technique to nudge Brooks after the game.

However, this was another exception as LeBron played with Brooks all night long. He even made a “too small” gesture, something he was reluctant to do.

LeBron was hot all night and Brooks basically had nothing to do except foul him.

As the game neared, the Lakers targeted Brooks over LeBron. Shockingly, it worked!

After the game, when asked about the “rivalry” between Brooks and LeBron, Hachimura had one of his quotes from the night.

“I don’t know what the dispute was between these two,” Rui said. “I know they’ve been doing this for a while, especially last year in the playoffs. They have something going on. For LeBron, it’s nothing. It’s actually good for him. He needs this. kind of motivation. This made him more involved in the game.

“As you can see, no matter what (Brooks) is doing, it doesn’t do anything for (LeBron). He scores more, rebounds more, we win. “Dillon Brooks, he just wants to be his legacy a part of. “

I guess Brooks succeeded this time. He will be remembered as the “Kobe Closer” just like Ruben Patterson.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter: @Jacobrud.