Paul, Rondo, Ingram ejected after throwing punches in brawl
LeBron James' home debut ended up being overshadowed by fight night at Staples Center.
Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul and Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo exchanged punches during a wild fourth-quarter brawl on Saturday night. Lakers forward Brandon Ingram also threw punches in the ensuing melee.
Paul, Rondo, and Ingram were all ejected.
Replay Review (Game Crew): player altercation in Q4 of #HOUatLAL. Ruling: Fighting technical foul ejections assessed to Rondo and Paul, two technical fouls and ejection assessed to Ingram. pic.twitter.com/EKSguqcDnk
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) October 21, 2018
The fight began after James Harden was fouled with 4:13 remaining in the fourth. Ingram then pushed Harden, leading to an exchange of words.
While Ingram was being pulled away from the pack by his teammates, Paul and Rondo began talking. Paul shoved his fingers into Rondo's face, and Rondo responded by clocking Paul with a left haymaker.
Rondo legit clocked CP3 oh my pic.twitter.com/hC5gzl9TQq
— Steve Perrault (@Steve_Perrault) October 21, 2018
Ingram then ran back into the scrum and threw a punch as players from both teams and security intervened. A furious Paul was corralled and restrained by James before being escorted off the floor.
Following the game, Paul told ESPN's broadcast crew that Rondo spat on him.
Chris Paul told our broadcast crew this all started because Rajon Rondo spit in his face. When the second replay cycles through you can see Chris wiping his face before he goes at Rondo. pic.twitter.com/2DxPjWdYCu
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 21, 2018
Paul, Rondo, and Ingram could all face significant suspensions as a result of the incident. Kiki VanDeWeghe, who's in charge of league discipline, was in attendance for Saturday's game, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
With the NBA’s Kiki VanDeWeghe on the scene at Staples, investigation into Rockets-Lakers fight is underway tonight and there is potential for suspensions as soon as Sunday, league source tells ESPN. Rockets play Clippers on a back-to-back.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 21, 2018
After the dust finally settled, the Rockets pulled away and won the game 124-115.