NBA Brawl: Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, And Brandon Ingram Fist Fight In LA

Thanks to Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, and Brandon Ingram, fans in the stands to watch the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Houston Rockets at the Staples Center got a little bit of hand-to-hand combat to go along with their fill of basketball on Saturday, October 20.

Yahoo! Sports reports that the contest was pretty much running neck and neck until Houston lost Paul and L.A. lost the tandem of Rondo and Ingram to ejections following the late-game breakout of an all-out-brawl between the three men. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the losses would handicap their chances of staying competitive through the final few minutes of what turned out to be a 124-115 defeat. To the detriment of both teams, however, each party involved in the melee is likely looking at a multi-game suspension.

ESPN cites the Rockets being up by a slight 109-108 lead with 4:13 remaining in the 4th quarter when Harden drove toward the basket and collided with Ingram in what appeared to be an attempt to score the basket and draw a foul. Within seconds it became clear that Ingram didn’t take too kindly to the charge, as he walked up to the reigning MVP while he was arguing for the call, and proceeded to give him a shove.

Lance Stephenson rushed over to pull Ingram away so as to save him from further escalating the confrontation, but while they were off cooling him down, Paul and Rondo wound up in each other’s faces. Bleacher Report has quoted a source as conveying that Carmelo Anthony saw Rondo spit at his Rockets teammate, although NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski has since taken to Twitter to share that the Lakers are disputing the claim. Whatever the case, it was at that point that Paul and Rondo came to blows.

Video of the altercation shows the moment Ingram took notice of the scrap and broke from the restraining hands of his teammates to race over and pile on to the commotion. He’d took a full swing on the action, prompting Anthony to motion toward him before he too was held back.

At this point, there is no telling how Ingram may or may not feel about the opponent, but as far as the veterans are concerned, Paul and Rondo are known to have a history of bad blood with one another.

Now their problem is a Lakers vs. Rockets problem that will again come to a head when they meet again on December 13.