Rockets, Lakers brawl as LeBron and LA suffer another fall

Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo exchanged blows and the Houston Rockets knocked out the Los Angeles Lakers in their first home game with LeBron James.

That's about how things are going for LeBron in LA, as the Lakers fell to 0-2 courtesy of the Rockets' 124-115 victory Saturday.

The Rockets led by just one (109-108) when the fight broke out. According to multiple reports, Paul alleged that Rondo spit on him as the two stood face to face near the free-throw line following a dead ball. Paul stuck his finger in Rondo's face, Rondo reacted with a punch, and Paul clearly landed one of his own.

Lakers forward Brandon Ingram also took a swing at Paul, but it is unclear if Ingram actually connected. James and Rockets forward Carmelo Anthony attempted to play peacemakers during the fracas. James, Anthony and Paul are all undeniably close, and James dragged Paul away from the commotion with what appeared to be some calming words.

Suspensions are surely forthcoming.

Carmelo Anthony: "It was bullsh!t, plain and simple. Unacceptable. We all know what happened. What happened was unacceptable, shouldn’t have happened. "

Spit? "Yeah, that's unacceptable. You don't do that ... in sports, on the streets. That's blatant disrespectful right there."
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 21, 2018

Sources: Lakers officials watched tape and are backing Rajon Rondo’s contention that he didn’t spit on Chris Paul. Meanwhile, CP3 and Rockets are insisting that Rondo did spit. “Lot of history between them,” one source connected to both players says.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 21, 2018

Per Yahoo Sports:

"With four minutes left in the game, Rockets guard James Harden drew a foul while driving to the hoop, making a layup over Lakers forward Brandon Ingram to put the Rockets up by 109-108. Ingram, though, didn’t like the call. The 21-year-old quickly shoved Harden in the back, drawing a technical foul."

As the situation began to escalate in the lane, Lakers swingman Lance Stephenson raced over to grab Ingram and pull him away from the scrum.

D'Antoni on the fight night: "I saw it from a distance. I wasn’t getting in there. I had glasses on. I couldn’t go in there.

“The NBA will sort it out. Some heated stuff. I’m sure some spit was thrown. When you cross a line, that happens.”
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 21, 2018

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

The Rockets are staying in Los Angeles and face the Clippers on Sunday night. The Lakers next play Monday, at home against the San Antonio Spurs. Los Angeles has surrendered an average of 126 points in its first two games.

James finished with 24 points on 9-of-22 shooting. He tallied five rebounds and five assists, both low by his standards. Harden led all scorers with 36 points.