Dillon embraced his inner Villain on Monday night.

Dillon Brooks may be one of the most vilified players in the association — to the point that he has embraced the nickname “The Villain” — but make no mistake about it, he is a player who contributes to winning at every stop. On Monday night, Brooks played a starring role in the Houston Rockets’ 114-112 victory over the reigning champion Boston Celtics, scoring a season-high 36 points on a bonkers 10-15 showing from beyond the arc (13-23 overall).

Brooks entered flow state and did not snap out of it while being his usual pesky self on the defensive end. He was as animated as ever, rallying the Rockets at every stop as they outlasted the Celtics thanks to his and Amen Thompson’s contributions. And he did not stop rubbing salt on the Celtics’ wounds on the hardwood; after the game, he pointed out a major glaring weakness of Boston’s that he relished exploiting.

“I like playing against bigs that are slow,” Brooks said when asked about Kristaps Porzingis, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

Porzingis, indeed, is not the fleetest of feet; it was certainly an interesting matchup choice from Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla to put Jrue Holiday, a man with a low center of gravity, on Alperen Sengun on the dying embers of the game, with Porzingis mainly playing help defense. But Brooks ran riot all night long as the Celtics gave up way too much space on the perimeter, which was especially the case when Porzingis was involved in the action.

It was certainly poetic that the Rockets won the game due to some shoddy defensive work from their big men; Porzingis was not on the floor for the Celtics’ final defensive possession, with Mazzulla trusting Luke Kornet instead, and then Kornet proceeded to allow a wide-open dunk from Alperen Sengun and then botched a switch with Jaylen Brown on the final play, leading to Thompson’s heroics.

Dillon Brooks is the Rockets’ ultimate X-Factor

When the Rockets signed Dillon Brooks, many fans were skeptical. Brooks had worn out his welcome with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he was scapegoated for their downturn in fortune during the 2022-23 season.

But Brooks is a culture-setter — the ultimate guy that you love as your teammate and loathe as a member of the opposition. He has helped establish a high defensive floor for the Rockets, and when his offensive game is on point, Houston is tough to beat.