Originally published by LakersNation.com
The Houston Rockets were able to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers by taking Game 4 and sending the series back to L.A. But attitudes and frustrations between the two teams began to boil over with multiple technical fouls and ejections and the two teams needing to be separated right after the game ended.
In particular, Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate was seen trash-talking many Lakers, including challenging Lakers center Maxi Kleber to a fight. But in the eyes of veteran guard Marcus Smart, the talk coming from the Rockets was just laughable, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
After the final buzzer, the trash talk continued between both teams at center court. Several Lakers players told ESPN that Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate was taunting their team, using curse words to name call, and invited the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Kleber to fight him.
“Hilarious,” Lakers guard Marcus Smart deadpanned when asked about the back-and-forth. “Very hilarious.”
Smart has been in the league for a long time and is a known agitator and enforcer, so he has seen basically everything there is when it comes to stuff like this, especially in the playoffs. Most series’ reach a point where players get tired of each other and there are some minor altercations, but it rarely escalates above some talking and shoving.
Game 4 was full of those moments well before the post-game altercations. Deandre Ayton was ejected in the third quarter for a Flagrant 2 foul after elbowing Rockets big man Alperen Sengun in the head, and while there was obvious contact, even Sengun himself felt the ejection was soft and unwarranted.
Lakers rookie Adou Thiero was also ejected in the final minute, along with Rockets guard Aaron Holiday, after the two began jawing back and forth as the officials tried to maintain order and not let things get out of hand. Though, again, many felt these ejections were unnecessary as well with Luka Doncic offering to pay Thiero’s fine.
This has been a physical series and the Rockets are a physical team, but the Lakers have been matching them every step of the way and, ultimately, Smart isn’t taking these threats from the Rockets too seriously.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton explains what happened on ejection from his viewpoint
The ejection of Ayton in the third quarter was questionable to say the least. And after the game, the Lakers center explained what happened from his vantage point and how the elbow to Sengun’s head was accidental.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
The Houston Rockets were able to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers by taking Game 4 and sending the series back to L.A. But attitudes and frustrations between the two teams began to boil over with multiple technical fouls and ejections and the two teams needing to be separated right after the game ended.
In particular, Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate was seen trash-talking many Lakers, including challenging Lakers center Maxi Kleber to a fight. But in the eyes of veteran guard Marcus Smart, the talk coming from the Rockets was just laughable, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
After the final buzzer, the trash talk continued between both teams at center court. Several Lakers players told ESPN that Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate was taunting their team, using curse words to name call, and invited the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Kleber to fight him.
“Hilarious,” Lakers guard Marcus Smart deadpanned when asked about the back-and-forth. “Very hilarious.”
Smart has been in the league for a long time and is a known agitator and enforcer, so he has seen basically everything there is when it comes to stuff like this, especially in the playoffs. Most series’ reach a point where players get tired of each other and there are some minor altercations, but it rarely escalates above some talking and shoving.
Game 4 was full of those moments well before the post-game altercations. Deandre Ayton was ejected in the third quarter for a Flagrant 2 foul after elbowing Rockets big man Alperen Sengun in the head, and while there was obvious contact, even Sengun himself felt the ejection was soft and unwarranted.
Lakers rookie Adou Thiero was also ejected in the final minute, along with Rockets guard Aaron Holiday, after the two began jawing back and forth as the officials tried to maintain order and not let things get out of hand. Though, again, many felt these ejections were unnecessary as well with Luka Doncic offering to pay Thiero’s fine.
This has been a physical series and the Rockets are a physical team, but the Lakers have been matching them every step of the way and, ultimately, Smart isn’t taking these threats from the Rockets too seriously.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton explains what happened on ejection from his viewpoint
The ejection of Ayton in the third quarter was questionable to say the least. And after the game, the Lakers center explained what happened from his vantage point and how the elbow to Sengun’s head was accidental.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
