It’s not often the NBA can hijack an NFL Sunday with a regular season matchup. A fight will definitely do it, though, especially when it involves LeBron James.
Tonight’s brawl wasn’t the biggest fight in NBA history. (It wasn’t even the biggest NBA fight to ever happen in Detroit in the month of November.) But it was still quite something. After LeBron James landed a pretty cheap (if inadvertently damaging) shot that split open Isaiah tewart’s face, the young Pistons big tore back through a big crowd in an effort to get to LeBron.
The Lakers and Pistons had to be separated multiple times after this play between LeBron and Isaiah Stewart. pic.twitter.com/im0o7fXeoI
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 22, 2021
Stewart was ejected for multiple technicals, and LeBron was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul, which is just the second ejection of his career. Also in the melee, Russell Westbrook was assessed a technical foul. After the game (which the Lakers won), Westbrook was asked about the technical, which is also the exact same moment Russ learned he had received a technical.
Russell Westbrook learns he was assessed a technical foul during the Isaiah Stewart/LeBron altercation. pic.twitter.com/sILG8e9Lzc
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 22, 2021
Westbrook’s apparent bafflement is funny on its own, of course. As is the fact that he immediately jumped to blaming some sort of anti-Russell Westbrook conspiracy treatment from the league and officials. It’s even better, though, when you look back at the video (seen here in amusingly soundtracked form) and note that on at least one occasion, Westbrook rejoined the fight after being pulled away.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 22, 2021
oi wot’s all this m8 pic.twitter.com/UiAhEYvszB
— ¡BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL! (@edsbs) November 22, 2021
Here’s how Scott Foster broke down the fouls and ejections issued after the game, in which Foster notes that they deemed Westbrook an instigator rather than a peacemaker.
I was the pool reporter tonight. Here's Scott Foster on the altercation between Isaiah Stewart and LeBron James: pic.twitter.com/EjMGnnTycX
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) November 22, 2021
So, yeah, clearly Westbrook didn’t feel that technical was warranted for his actions. It’s also very, very plausible that Westbrook truly does not remember what happened in the middle of that. In any case, it’s unlikely we’re going to get an NBA player learning of a technical foul in the postgame presser again for a very long time.
[image via @worldwidewob]
