The game’s over. But we’re still talking about it. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns in a tight 116-114 victory, with too many opportunities for it to go either way. What made this game a rollercoaster was the relentless poking between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks. As always, Brooks got under the NBA veteran’s skin and lashed out. It left the fans mad. Now, Rich Paul, who has professional connections to both, is trying to smooth things out between everyone.

Footage surfaced of the alleged trash talk between the two stars. Let’s just say we now get why both were provoked. This was bound to come up on Game Over with Max Kellerman and Paul. Since the community isn’t impressed, Kellerman had to ask if his co-host felt responsible for both of his clients’ conduct.

Paul was blunt, and after stating that people often mix up agents with nannies, he reiterated what James and Brooks have been saying.

“These guys are grown men,” Paul said. “You got two guys competing, right? Compete. Compete.”

So he’s not going to call Brooks for a stern talk. He first debunked a common misconception that the 29-year-old is his client alongside James.

Brooks is under OneLegacy Sports, which is part of Paul’s KlutchSports umbrella, but Mike George is his agent. And Paul doesn’t think George will call his client for this either.

But Paul does say any team that “actually has a chance to win the championship” should get Brooks on board.

“You want that guy on your team,” James’ agent said of Brooks’ traits. “He’s a guy that you probably don’t want to play against every night, but if he’s in your locker room, you want that.”

Kellerman then summed it all up with an accurate one-line description.

“Classic case of a dude who you hate when he’s on the other team, but if he’s on your team, you love him.”

Let’s be clear: he’s not hinting that Brooks and James will become teammates. But he gets the competitive atmosphere they bring.

The things that James did in this game that infuriated Suns fans: he fouled Brooks on a three-point attempt, which wasn’t called; he shoved a ref, which the pool report dismissed as a fineable incident; and he missed crucial free throws. But that was just the surface…

What did LeBron James and Dillon Brooks say to each other?

It seems like Dillon Brooks realized he might not get many chances to goad LeBron James after this season.

So he was getting in a few figurative punches, and James was biting.

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Apparently, audio has leaked on social media that the Lakers star snapped, thanks to @legendz_prod on X.

“Don’t throw the f—— ball at me! Chill the f— out with that b——.”

James said this after Brooks intentionally hit the ball on his shoulder. Here’s where the Lakers veteran appeared to get angry at the referee who told him to “stop it.” James, though, was in no mood to back down and asked for the Suns star to be ejected in a not-so-friendly manner.

Brooks also allegedly claimed that the 23-year NBA star was “flopping.”

There was a lot more expletive-heavy talk between them.

Ironically, Brooks got ejected on two techs for fouling James. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ star got away with an unsportsmanlike conduct tag on one instance.

Paul wishes his clients didn’t invite techs. But he could speak for James when he said…

“He’s in year 23. There’s nothing he hasn’t seen… At the end of the day, he played a pretty good game last night.”

Paul’s only lament was that James should’ve made the free throws. It left those watching with mixed feelings, including JJ Redick after the game. Yet the Lakers walked away very satisfied with the level of competition.