Suns finally shown other side of Dillon Brooks for first time in ugly loss

There is no doubt that the arrival of Dillon Brooks is one of the key reasons for the Phoenix Suns confounding expectations so far this season.

He has been the emotional engine that the roster has relied upon every night he has been available, although in recent games we have begun to see the drawbacks of having such a guy on their team.

In his latest spat with LeBron James he somehow ended up being the hero, but that perception ran out in the loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Brooks' pushes emotions beat too far in loss to Golden State Warriors

It was clear from the jump in their baseball style mini series with the Warriors that Brooks was amped up, having appeared to clash with Stephen Curry in the Suns' win a couple of days previous.

At one point Jimmy Butler threw a ball at Brooks which caused him to jaw off at the referees, although it was Draymond Green who would ultimately be ejected from the game.

There was a moment just before halftime where Brooks fouled De'Anthony Melton on a 3-pointer as time expired that ended up swinging the momentum back in Golden State's favor.

At that point the Suns were winning 67-60, but the desire of Brooks to ensure a shot that did not have a high percentage of going in was one of the building block on which the Warriors ended up winning by three points.

Brooks finished with 22 points and was efficient from every area of the court, but this performance where he strays over the line has been coming as far back as that matchup with LeBron.

Butler got under his skin and he was fired up early, although you couldn't blame him for letting a smirk out when Green was ejected. There are similarities between those two, and the Suns seem happy to live with Brooks taking it too far from time-to-time.

It would also be harsh to say he alone was the reason the Suns lost a close one here. If anything his play behind Devin Booker's 38 kept them in it, and it was the likes of Collin Gillespie having an off night that was the difference.

But it is clear, as it has always been, that Brooks can let his emotions get the better of him out there. Opponents know this, and so will target him whenever they can.

The Suns don't need or want him to change, and he remains one of the best offseason additions in the league. We just can't pretend that he won't take it too far and hurt his team again, because he will.