The home debut of the new look Los Angeles Lakers against the Houston Rockets was marred by an ugly incident in the fourth quarter involving Brandon Ingram, Rajon Rondo, and Chris Paul – with all three being ejected and likely looking at hefty fines.
The incident, which resulted in a number of punches being thrown, escalated to such a level that Lakers forward Ingram reportedly had to be escorted by police as he exited the Staples Center.
Rockets insider and The Athletic contributor Kelly Iko broke the news on Twitter.
Brandon Ingram just left the locker room with a police presence. Can confirm no secret tunnel was needed, but definitely much longer after the Rockets players had left the facility.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) October 21, 2018
Unfortunately, there were no photos of the reported occurrence. Nonetheless, given how Ingram, who is regarded as the main instigator of the violent turn of events, was so heated during the incident, it comes to no surprise that the police had to be called in.
Iko also adds in a bit of a comic relief in his tweet, referencing the secret tunnel that made its way to headlines following last season’s melee that also occurred in Staples Center involving the Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Paul was also heavily involved in that incident a year ago, and has established somewhat of a reputation for being testy at times. His participation in last night’s incident is further testament to this fact.
Nevertheless, it appears that Ingram will be facing the most severe penalties here. As mentioned previously, he was the one who started the almost-brawl by shoving James Harden from behind after being called for a foul.
More updates should be available within the next few hours, and we will continue passing them along. Stay tuned.
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