Isaiah Stewart wanted a piece of LeBron James. Photo / Twitter.
Isaiah Stewart wanted a piece of LeBron James. Photo / Twitter.
LeBron James has been ejected and booed mercilessly by an angry Detroit crowd after a fight broke out in the Lakers' bitter win over the Pistons on Monday.
The game exploded in the third quarter when James appeared to elbow Pistons star Isaiah Stewart to the side of the head as they contested a rebound on a second free-throw attempt.
The contact sent Stewart stumbling backwards.
When he regained his feet, he immediately charged at James before players from both teams could jump in between the two.
A seething Stewart was escorted away by security and teammates, but broke free of their clutches and made a second charge at James before he was again stopped short of reaching the Los Angeles star.
It is just the second time in his career that James has been ejected from a game.
The crowd was scathing of James as he calmly made his walk off the court with boos echoing around the arena.
There have been suggestions James may have attempted to apologise to Stewart when he first turned around following the contact before Stewart snapped and tried to attack the 36-year-old four-time NBA MVP.
James' All-Star teammate Anthony Davis also said after the game the former Miami and Cleveland forward had been trying to apologise in the brief moment before Stewart lost his cool.
"Everyone in the league knows LeBron is not a dirty guy," he said.
He said James' initial reaction was to turn around and say "my bad" to Stewart.
NBA fans appear divided over James' elbow, with replays appearing to show a deliberate second arm movement action to make contact with his rival's head.
James is now facing a possible suspension.
LeBron James is ejected after fouling Detroit Pistons centre Isaiah Stewart. Photo / AP
It was just his second game back for the Lakers after he missed eight games as a result of an abdominal injury.
With the confrontation leading to an explosion of noise from inside Little Caesers Arena, Detroit's home stadium, the local microphone announcer could be heard begging fans to remain in their seats as at least one fan ran onto the court to try and get involved in the confrontation.
Outspoken NBA commentator Skip Bayless summed up the action in a post on Twitter.
"LeBron popped Isaiah Stewart in the eye with a cheapshot elbow after they got tangled up, drawing blood. It definitely WAS a flagrant 2. Stewart wanted to kill him. Took 10 minutes for teammates to restrain him. LeBron needs postgame protection," he wrote.
James had 10 points at the time of his ejection with the Lakers trailing 78-76.
The heated game continued to simmer after James had been bounced with the Lakers edging in front in the final minutes, thanks to the heroics of Davis, who had 30 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lakers won the thriller 121-116, having come back from 12 points down early in the second half.
