NBA superstar LeBron James was ejected after things got heated during the LA Lakers‘ match against the Detroit Pistons.
During a third-quarter free throw attempt, James was jostling for position with Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart when it appeared the Lakers superstar struck his opponent high with his left arm.
Stewart reacted immediately and got into the face of James before things turned ugly.
Teammates from both sides rushed in, with James attempting to defuse the situation before Stewart had to be held back.
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When it appeared the situation was under control, Stewart continued to run and charge at James and the Lakers, even knocking down a member of the Detroit coaching staff to get close.
The Pistons forward was again held back but continued to try to break free and charge at the Lakers before racing to the changerooms.
“He has a lot of blood streaming from the side of his eye,” said Lakers commentator Bill Macdonald.
“You’ve got coaches, security guys. [Detroit coach] Dwane Casey is like, just calm down.
“He is knocking over … he’s running through the line. That’s nuts, this is crazy right now.
“Both coaching staff are making sure players don’t come out further.”
Both Stewart and James were ejected.
Stewart took several minutes to calm before breaking free and racing under the tunnel to his changeroom, where it was feared he could loop around and come out another end and find his way back on the court.
Heavy security and police presence made their way onto the court and it was the last fans saw of Stewart.
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James was issued with a flagrant two foul, which is an automatic ejection, just the second time in his career he’s suffered such a fate.
The moment stunned the NBA world, with pundits flocking to Twitter to voice their opinions over the scuffle.
Many were divided, with some suggesting James was reckless with his contact against Stewart.
https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/1462579636613701633https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1462579317620281350https://twitter.com/getnickwright/status/1462582148204949511https://twitter.com/RealSkipBayless/status/1462582212205842438https://twitter.com/ShannonSharpe/status/1462580163514822658https://twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/1462580764072099849
The incident will be reviewed by the NBA where suspensions and fines may be handed down.
The last time James was tossed from a game was in 2017 while playing for Cleveland.
He was arguing with a match official over a non-foul call when he was hit with two technical fouls and ejected.
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