The Phoenix Suns lost 121-127 to the Miami Heat last night following a clutch takeover from Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell in the fourth quarter to nullify a comeback from the Suns.
Dillon Brooks, the Suns’ veteran swingman, got into a heated argument with a fan courtside during the fourth quarter right after Phoenix rallied back to take the lead in the game.
“Sit down, Brooks! Shut up!” yelled the fan as Brooks was getting ready to check into the game.
“Who are you talking to? Watch the f**king game and shut the f**k up! Real talk,” the Suns veteran responded.
“You’re a**,” said the heckler. “Really? Check the f**kin box score. When I get on the floor, look up,” Brooks responded.
The fan replied, asking Brooks to shut up and even called him an “a**hole” as the Canadian guard walked away. A leaked footage of this incident went viral on social media.
Heat fan went AT IT with Dillon Brooks 😭
Fan: “Sit down Brooks! Shut up!”
Brooks: “who you talking to? Watch the f*ckin game and STFU!”
Fan: “you’re a$$”
Brooks: “really? Check the f*ckin score” pic.twitter.com/jbI8ad5bko
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) January 15, 2026
Some players would resort to getting the fan ejected from the arena. But Brooks decided to walk away and swallow the hostility like a professional. While the Heat had the last laugh in this situation, Brooks had an above-average night altogether.
He finished the game with 25 points, four rebounds, and two steals while shooting 11-24 from the field (45.8%) but struggling 1-10 from beyond the arc (10.0%), including airballing a game-tying three-point shot with less than 15 seconds left in the game.
It was announced today that a technical foul assessed to Brooks yesterday has been rescinded upon official review. But while there is a check on player behavior, there are limited ways to control fan behavior.
With the rising confrontations between fans and players, there is an increasing need to remind fans the fact that, at the end of the day, these players are still humans. The increasing unruly behavior from fans, especially due to sports betting, has become a serious problem for the league now.
They might have to implement measures to ensure some distance between courtside supporters and players. Unfortunately, the league has come to this, but ensuring player and fan safety should be the league’s top priority here.
The Suns fell to 24-16 following this loss to the Heat and will face the Pistons on the road in their next game tomorrow (Thursday, January 15). Meanwhile, the Heat improved to 21-19 and will face the Celtics at home tomorrow as well.
