Fisticuffs break out in James’ home debut

Saturday night’s home debut of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James saw a glittering array of onlookers that included Jack Nicholson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Floyd Mayweather come out to Staples Center.

But James was overshadowed when a brawl erupted with Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul and Lakers guard Rajon Rondo at its epicentre.

The two have a fair amount of ugly history, which was apparent late in the fourth quarter.

The Rockets were up by a point when Brandon Ingram of the Lakers pushed Houston’s James Harden in the back.

Ingram was called for a technical by referee Jason Phillips after Ingram yelled at the ref and Lance Stephenson pulled him away.

That’s when the main event began, with an appreciative Mayweather looking on.

Rondo and Paul started exchanging words, with Paul reaching out to poke Rondo. Rondo responded with a punch and Paul let fly with a punch. Ingram ran in and James pulled Paul away. Ingram, Rondo and Paul were ejected and can expect heavy fines as well as possible suspensions.

What was at the heart of the fisticuffs? None of the three were talking, but Paul’s teammates claimed Rondo spat in his face.

Lakers players disputed that and reported that the team reviewed video and saw no spit, either accidental or deliberate.

“I didn’t see that,” Lonzo Ball said. “I saw Chris Paul touch his face then go from there.”

The NBA announced a series of suspensions Sunday including four games for Ingram, three games for Rondo and two games for Paul. The League factored in the history between Paul and Rondo, which has erupted in 2009, 2012 and last March, with its decision. The Rockets ended up winning the game 124-115.