The excitement of LeBron James playing his first home game with the Los Angeles Lakers took a turn for the worst and ultimately became remembered for the brawl between veteran point guards Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul.
A chippy game between the Lakers and Houston Rockets boiled over late in the fourth quarter when Brandon Ingram was called for a foul on James Harden. Ingram was upset with the whistle, shoved Harden and confronted referee Jason Phillips.
That earned him a technical foul and led to Rondo and Paul coming nose-to-nose. Paul, which later became known was in response to allegedly being spit on, put his finger in Rondo’s face.