Quick Hitters

Fight in LeBron’s home debut, loss to Houston

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James scored 24 points for the Los Angeles Lakers in his wild home debut, which included three players getting ejected for fighting late in the fourth quarter of the Houston Rockets’ 124-115 victory Saturday night.

Chris Paul and the Lakers’ Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo were tossed with 4:13 to play after a prolonged series of confrontations that put an ugly end on a celebratory night for Lakers fans eager to welcome James to the West Coast.

The game was close until Ingram was called for a foul while trying to defend an aggressive drive by James Harden, who finished with 36 points. The normally mild-mannered Ingram shoved Harden and then confronted referee Jason Phillips after getting a technical foul.

In the ensuing group argument, Paul stuck a finger into the face of Rondo, who responded by punching his fellow point guard. Ingram then threw punches in the melee, while James attempted to break up the fight by grabbing Paul, his friend.

When the action cooled, Harden hit a key 3-pointer to propel the Rockets to their first win of the season.

James also had five rebounds and five assists. JaVale McGee had 16 points and six rebounds in his own Lakers home debut, while Rondo had 13 points and 10 assists before getting thrown out.

Burfict fined $112,000 for 2 hits against Steelers

NEW YORK — The NFL has been fined Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict $112,000 for multiple unnecessary roughness penalties in Cincinnati’s loss to Pittsburgh last Sunday.

The third-quarter plays involved Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back James Conner. Burfict, who has been fined 11 times for more than $315,000 during his seven-year NFL career, was suspended for four games to begin this season for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancers.

Burfict was fined for a helmet hit to Brown; he previously served a three-game suspension for a hit on Brown during the 2016 playoffs.