Brook Lopez trolls his brother after Serge Ibaka fight
Brook Lopez met the news of his brother’s fight with Serge Ibaka with some light-hearted trolling.
The biggest flashpoint in the NBA Tuesday night came, improbably, at the Air Canada Centre, where the 41-29 Raptors were taking on a struggling Bulls squad. With Chicago up by 16 with almost four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Robin Lopez and Serge Ibaka squared up after a Jimmy Butler 3-pointer.
As their teammates rushed over to separate the two players, Lopez threw a punch in Ibaka’s direction. He missed, but that didn’t stop Ibaka from returning the favor. The fight did at least turn what had been a lopsided game into a thrilling contest — Toronto overhauled that 16-point deficit to win 122-120 in overtime.
The fight, of course, was the main talking point, and so it was only a matter of time before someone asked Brook Lopez what he thought of his brother’s antics. Brook, as he’s wont to do, sided against his brother.
“Maybe we’ll get a grudge match,” he said. “Who knows? I’m pulling for Ibaka, though.”
The full interview is below, via Kristian Winfield:
Robin Lopez and Serge Ibaka got ejected for throwing punches at each other.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) March 22, 2017
Brook Lopez says he's pulling for Ibaka in the grudge match. pic.twitter.com/IojTobIF8k
Brook’s spirits were obviously high after his Nets beat the Pistons for their 14th win of the season. That’s a horrible record, but Lopez has performed well. He put up 29 points to go along with seven boards against Detroit, and is averaging 20.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game on the season.
The Lopez-Ibaka fight came just a day after the Warriors and Thunder engaged in mass shoving-match of their own during a dominant Warriors win. Perhaps, as Lopez suggests, the NBA is going a little old school. Or maybe getting suspended is now the least controversial way for a player to take some rest.