LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended for one game and Isaiah Stewart of Detroit was suspended for two games for his role in an ugly incident during Sunday’s Lakers-Pistons game.
The NBA announced the suspension on Monday, and both will affect games on Tuesday. James will not play when the Lakers go to Madison Square Garden to play the New York Knicks. Stewart will miss the Pistons’ home games against Miami on Tuesday and their games in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
James would lose about $284,000 in salary, while Stewart would lose about $45,000. It was the first suspension in the 19-year career of James, who won four NBA titles with three teams.
The Lakers and Pistons reunite in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Stewart, the NBA said, was disciplined to escalate the controversy on the court by repeatedly and aggressively following James in a non-player manner. James deserves a suspension for brutally hitting Stewart in the face and starting a brawl in court,” the NBA said.
The incident happened in the third quarter when James and Stewart were fighting for position during a free throw. Their arms appeared intertwined and James curled his elbows, approaching Stewart, whose eye was bleeding quickly.
For a moment the cooler head seemed to prevail. Stewart was directed away from the spot where teammates and coaches approached, although he became more enraged along the way. Then he tried to double backwards and started running to where James was. Many people again blocked his way and ensured that the ugly incident did not turn ugly.
Stewart was assessed two technical fouls, James was assessed a flagrant foul penalty 2, and both players were taken out of the game.
,
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
read all breaking news, breaking news And coronavirus news Here. follow us on Facebook, Twitter And Wire,