LeBron James was ejected from the Los Angeles Lakers-Detroit vs Pistons game after drawing blood on Isaiah Stewart’s face when they fought for a rebound on Sunday night.
Lebron’ left elbow and hand appeared to make contact with Stewart above the neck, sending Steward into a rage. Stewart had to be held back more than once, thus keeping him separated from James.
A bloodied Stewart chased after James and refused to back down in retaliation for being cut open by the NBA legend during a battle for a rebound.
Stewart, who was called for a foul before James hit him, was also ejected from the game early in the third quarter after being assessed two technical fouls for his role in the fray. James was called for a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected.
Pool Report on the Ejection of LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart in the Third Quarter of Tonight’s Los Angeles Lakers at Detroit Pistons Gamehttps://t.co/qk4O4EEUUr
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) November 22, 2021
The NBA is expected to suspend both Lebron and Steward, with CBS Sports Brad Botkin highlighting recent history suggests a two to three game ban looms.
“How long will LeBron‘s suspension be? Based on precedent, my best guess would be two to three games, and I would lean toward the two,” Botkin wrote.
Lakers Anthony Davis praised players, coaches and Pistons security for keeping the peace at the ground.
“Everybody did a great job trying to deescalate the situation,” Anthony said after the Lakers beat the Pistons 121-116. “You never want it to get to that point like 17 years ago.”
James was escorted off the floor and fans did not throw anything at him as he walked toward the team’s locker room.
Pistons coach Dwane Casey said Stewart received eight to nine stitches to repair the gash, argung his player does not deserve additional punishment from the NBA.
“He was upset, he shouldn’t be facing anything,” Casey said.
Davis said it was an unintentional act on the part of James.
“Not getting off the court in time (is a small thing). I don’t see any ramifications from the league on that.”
“Stewart tried to get physical with LeBron and LeBron did the same thing,” Davis said.
“Everybody in the league knows LeBron’s not a dirty guy. As soon as he did it, he looked back at him and said ‘Oh, my bad, I didn’t try to do it’.
“I don’t (know) what (Stewart) was trying to do. … I’ve never seen a player try to do that since I’ve been playing. I know we’ve seen it before (back) in the day.
“That was uncalled for. You got a cut above your eye, accidentally, it wasn’t on purpose. We weren’t going to allow him to keep charging our brother like that.”
Pistons led by double digits when the game was put on hold.
The Lakers fought back without James, outscoring the Pistons by 20 points in the fourth quarter to win 121-116.
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