Tempers flared early in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets game at the Toyota Center on Sunday. The team's two respective temperamental players, Markieff Morris and DeMarcus Cousins, got into a heated shoving match that almost turned ugly.

With under three minutes left in the opening period, Morris sent Rockets winger Jae'Sean Tate flying with a clear shove. Boogie did not appreciate that unwarranted push on his teammate and quickly retaliated by sending Morris to the ground with an elbow of his own.

The Lakers forward saw red as soon as he got back up and bum-rushed Cousins before being held back by his teammates. Surprisingly, Cousins just walked away and did not further escalate the situation.

Here's the incident, which luckily did not end up to a full-blown melee.

After further assessment by the officials, Markieff Morris was booted out of the ball game after getting a flagrant foul and a technical foul. Boogie, on the other hand, just received a tech and stayed on the floor. However, DeMarcus Cousins was later on ejected as well after a hard foul on LeBron James.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Darvin Ham with a speech bubble that says "Y'all are insane!"

Owen Crisafulli ·

Anthony Davis tells Gabe Vincent "I missed you!"

Joshua Valdez ·

Pelicans coach Willie Green free throw disparity Lakers NBA Play-In Tournament

Peter Sampson ·

The Lakers certainly got the short end of the stick on that call, considering they lost one of their important reserves for the rest of the evening. The league will likely review the incident closely and could impose more sanctions for the Lakers forward. The Morris twins do have a notorious reputation around the league, so that may also factor in the NBA's decision.

Morris returned to the Purple and Gold this offseason and was notching 4.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 10 games. Cousins, on the other hand, is in his first year in H-Town and was averaging 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in five appearances.