LeBron James had a meltdown in a heated spat during Sunday’s 116-114 win over the Phoenix Suns.The 40-year-old doesn’t often lose his cool, but he did this time as he squared up with Dillon Brooks before grabbing the arm of an NBA referee.LeBron uncharacteristically had his hand on an NBA referee as he was furious with a callX @ESPNAusNZView Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwIn the third quarter, James was defending what seems now to be his personal rival, Dillon Brooks.The Suns forward drove to the lane but was fouled by teammate Luka Doncic.Brooks lost control of the ball but hit it back in the direction of LeBron.The ball appeared to hit King James, who then became furious and attempted to confront Brooks as he walked away.A referee got in between them, which led to the Lakers phenom unleashing his anger on the official and even grabbing his arm at one point.The forward was seen shouting and gesturing as teammate Rui Hachimura and head coach JJ Redick held him back. He was later assessed with a technical foul.Many expect James to be handed further punishment by the league.To be fair to the four-time NBA champion, Brooks had antagonised him earlier in the game.In the first quarter, Brooks ran into James and pushed him, with the former Grizzlies and Houston Texans star given a technical foulIn the second quarter, Brooks was given another technical after an altercation with James.JJ Redick had to come across the court to calm James downX @ESPNAusNZLeBron and Brooks wrote a new chapter in their unusual personal rivalry on SundayGettyJames got the last laugh in the end as the Lakers went on to win the game by two pointsGettyThen, in what felt like a scripted ending, it was the rivals who exchanged points to end the game, in which the Lakers escaped with the narrow win.Phoenix took a 114-113 lead with 12.2 seconds left after Brooks sank a three-pointer over James.Brooks then bumped James on the way back down the court and was handed another technical and ejected from the game.LeBron James shouldn’t have taken free throwThis also gave James a free throw, which he missed.Redick later admitted that Doncic should have taken the attempt but James was fouled again and this time scored on both his trips to the line to give the Lakers a 115-114 lead.“He brought his antics,” Lakers’ Jared Vanderbilt said of Brooks. “Tonight it cost him.”James also spoke about what seems to be a growing rivalry.LeBron James and Dillon Brooks bizzare rivarlyDillon Brooks and LeBron James have a rich history of clashes on the courtJanuary 2021:LeBron James taunts Dillon Brooks with the “too small” gesture after a clutch jumper in the last minute of the game, which handed the Lakers a 94-92 win over the GrizzliesJanuary 2023:Brooks goes at it with Shannon Sharpe courtside of a Lakers-Grizzlies game, the NFL star is a close friend of James.April 2023 (2023 Playoffs)Brooks calls James “old” and also says he “pokes bears” after Game 2 of their playoff series.The then-Grizzlies forward is ejected in the second half of Game 3 after hitting James in the groin.The Lakers went on to win the series.January 2024 Brooks commits a flagrant foul on James when he struck him across the face.James fell to the ground in what ended up being a 135-119 win for the Houston Rockets.December 2025 (Brooks with the Phoenix Suns):After Brooks held James to 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting when the Suns defeated the Lakers on Dec. 1, the forward said the Lakers star “likes people that bow down.”Brooks had 33 points in 33 minutes on 15 of 26 shooting in that game.The NBA icon looked furious at the officials for much of Sunday’s game before the Lakers escaped with the winGetty“He just likes to compete. He’s gonna compete. I’m gonna compete,” he said. “We’re gonna get up in each other’s face. Try not to go borderline with it. “You know, I don’t really take it there. But we just compete, and did that almost all the way to the end of the game.”The Lakers now sit fourth in the Western Conference while the Suns languish in seventh, although just four wins separate the two sides.Stay up to date with the latest from the NBA across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.