Former Duke basketball player Brandon Ingram is usually known as a mild-mannered player but was disqualified from Saturday night’s event for losing control of his emotions.
In the home opener between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets on Saturday, a brawl broke loose with four minutes remaining in the game. The altercation began when Rockets guard James Harden drove into Lakers forward and former Duke basketball player Brandon Ingram, causing a foul to be called.
Harden did not like the foul being called on the ground and proceeded to argue with the refs. As Harden continued to beg his case for continuation with the refs, Ingram grew frustrated with these actions and shoved Harden from behind.
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The two players then stood face to face arguing before being separated by the refs and teammates. Lakers forward Lance Stephenson stepped up as a peacemaker between the two, pulling Ingram away from the situation.
As the two were separated, Lakers guard Rajon Rondo and Rockets guard Chris Paul started jawing at one another at the free throw line. This resulted in Paul shoving Rondo in the face. Rondo did not take kindly to these actions and retaliated with multiple punches. These punches led to a brawl between the two teams. Security guards, coaches, and teammates rushed to break up the skirmish on the court.
Before the fight could be broken up, Ingram rushed back in from half court to throw a punch towards Paul.
The fight ended with Ingram being disqualified from the event and Paul and Rondo being ejected. Suspensions and fines are expected to be handed out as soon as Sunday. Kiki VanDeWeghe , the executive vice president of the NBA, was attending the game and will be responsible for handing out the punishments, 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
The final score of the game was the Rockets handing the Lakers their second loss of the season, 124-115.
The suspensions of these Lakers players could impact their availability going forward, and they will most likely miss the game against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday,