LOS ANGELES -- Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks earned a premature exit in Saturday's Game 3 loss for poking the bear below the belt.

Brooks was called for a flagrant foul 2 only 17 seconds into the second half after he swiped his left hand into LeBron James' groin area as the Los Angeles Lakers star dribbled the ball up the court.

It was Brooks' third ejection this season, matching the Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart and the Sacramento Kings' Malik Monk for the most in 2022-23, including the playoffs, according to ESPN Stats & Information data. Another of Brooks' ejections this season was for striking Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell in the groin area during a Feb. 2 loss, which also resulted in Brooks being suspended for one game.

It also was the second career postseason ejection for Brooks. He committed a flagrant 2 that injured Golden State's Gary Payton II in Game 2 of last season's Western Conference semifinals and was suspended by the NBA for the next game.

"I ain't talking," Brooks told ESPN while standing outside the Grizzlies locker room following Saturday's 111-101 loss.

After the Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the first-round series, Memphis star Ja Morant said he didn't believe Brooks should have been ejected but acknowledged concern that the NBA could decide to suspend him for Monday's Game 4.

Joe Dumars, the NBA's executive vice president and head of basketball operations, cited Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green's status as a "repeat offender" as a significant factor in the decision to suspend Green for Game 3 against the Kings.

"With how they treat Dillon, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he is," Morant said. "I felt like he was ejected because of past ejections that was made in games before. I mean, if you look at the play, he was actually reaching for the ball and the crossover. LeBron just went behind the back. Obviously he got hit somewhere that's tough for a man. But flagrant 1? OK, but ejection, I don't agree with it at all."

James brushed off a question about the possibility of further disciplinary action against Brooks.

"I'm not on that committee," said James, who approached Brooks on the court pregame and had a few choice words for him.

Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins, when asked about the play that led to Brooks' ejection, said only, "The officials made a call."

Brooks had been booed by the Crypto.com Arena crowd since his pregame routine more than an hour before tipoff. He drew the wrath of Lakers fans with his trash talk targeting James via the media after the Grizzlies' Game 2 win in Memphis on Wednesday.

"I don't care -- he's old. You know what I mean?" Brooks, 27, said then of the 38-year-old James. "I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they come and give me 40."

James scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting before Brooks' ejection. James finished with 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting, along with nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block.

Brooks had seven points on 3-of-13 shooting in 19 minutes.

"He was getting booed all season, so I don't think that bothers him at all," Morant said. "He actually embraces that and loves that. It gives him fuel, pretty much. It boosts him up.

"You go out there and play hard, and that's just Dillon. He's a big-time competitor. A lot of these teams, as much as they don't like him, they would love to have him on their team with the energy he brings and what he brings to the table."