WATCH: Melee Unfolds Between Cavaliers and Grizzlies After ‘Below the Belt’ Hit

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks got into a tussle on Thursday night.

Late in the third quarter, Brooks drove the ball toward the basket and attempted a layup, but he missed and fell to the floor. Mitchell grabbed the rebound, and as Brooks laid on the ground, the Grizzlies star turned around and caught Mitchell with a right hand to the groin. As Mitchell fell to the floor, he whipped the basketball right at Brooks, and chaos quickly ensued.

“Hold on! Hold on! Hold on!” NBA on TNT play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan said.

Mitchell shoved Brooks to the ground, and coaches from the Cavaliers and Grizzlies benches, along with the referees, got in the scrum to try to de-escalate the fight. The two combatants were separated and brought to their respective team huddles.

The replay showed that Mitchell shoved Brooks after the Grizzlies star’s hand swung around and caught the Cavaliers’ guard in the family jewels. A member of Memphis’ team quickly fell on top of Brooks to protect him from further confrontation.

“This has kinda been brewing on all game,” color commentator Reggie Miller said. “They had words earlier in the first quarter.”

“To me, that was an inadvertent hit,” Miller said. “I do not think Brooks was trying to hit Donovan Mitchell below the belt.”

Both players were ejected from Thursday night’s game. Mitchell got the hook for throwing the ball at the Grizzlies forward, and Brooks received a flagrant two-foul for his role in the scuffle.

Mitchell met with reporters after the game and blasted Brooks.

“Him and I have had our personal battles for years,” Mitchell said. “Quite frankly, I’ve been busting his ass for years. Playoffs, regular season, the one game he does an alright job on me today, he decides to do something like that. There’s no place like that in the game. You gotta protect yourself at the end of the day, but this has been brewing for years.”

After the game, Brooks did not discuss the altercation with the media, and when he was asked about the incident, Grizzlies star Ja Morant stepped in and said the team would not talk about the scuffle.

Watch above via NBA on TNT.