Suspensions:
Ingram, Rondo, Paul punished for Rockets-Lakers fight.
LOS ANGELES — Lakers teammates Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul of the Rockets were suspended without pay Sunday for an on-court fight, with Paul taking the biggest financial hit.
Ingram was suspended four games, Rondo will sit out three games and Paul two games. The NBA handed down the punishments a day after the incident at Staples Center.
The penalty was costliest to Paul, who was fined a total of $491,782. Paul is president of the NBA Players Association. He began serving his suspension Sunday night and wasn’t at Staples Center as the Rockets lost to the Clippers. Rondo will be docked $186,207. Ingram’s total is $158,816.
Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni disagreed with the severity of Paul’s penalty.
“If you wanted to suspend him one (game), I get it, just to make a statement,” he said. “Then you’re talking monetarily, he’s paying three times more than the other guys are paying for missing games? That doesn’t seem to be right.”
Ingram and Rondo start their bans Monday night when the Lakers host San Antonio.
The league said Ingram was suspended for aggressively escalating the altercation and throwing a punch in the direction of Paul, confronting referee Jason Phillips in a hostile manner, and instigating the overall incident by shoving Houston guard James Harden.
Rondo has been suspended for instigating a physical altercation with Paul, and spitting and throwing multiple punches at the Rockets’ guard. Paul was suspended for poking at and making contact with Rondo’s face and throwing punches at him.
“What is he supposed to do? Just stand there and get spit on and then take a punch in the face and say, ‘Well, that’s OK,’ ” D’Antoni said.
The Rockets led 109-108 with 4:13 left when Ingram fouled Harden, shoved him and then confronted Phillips after getting a technical foul.
Ingram, Paul and Rondo were ejected. Houston won 124-115.