The Detroit Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart said that he feels the blow he took to his face from Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James last Sunday was intentional.
James responded to the accusation and broke down what he felt happened, insisting that he did not purposely hit Stewart.
LeBron on Isaiah Stewart's comments: "I saw his comments. He felt it was intentional. … It was [an accident]. The actual chop down to get his arm off was on purpose, but my hand hitting his face was not on purpose."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) November 27, 2021
Stewart was visibly bleeding after the hit, and he was livid, causing him to attempt to charge at James more than once.
Both players were ejected and suspended for their roles in the incident. The Lakers were trailing by a sizable margin at the time of the skirmish, but they rallied in the fourth quarter behind Russell Westbrook and won against the Pistons.
On Friday, however, the Lakers suffered a dispiriting loss to the Sacramento Kings in triple overtime after coming home from a five-game road trip.
James had 30 points, but he was inefficient while looking old and slow.
L.A. is now 10-11 on the season, and the anxiety surrounding the team is growing thicker and thicker. There is growing speculation that head coach Frank Vogel’s job may be in peril.
Russell Westbrook kept his team in the game on Friday with a marvelous 29 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists while Malik Monk and Carmelo Anthony gave the squad a lift off the bench.
But the Lakers had no answer for Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, who scorched them with 34 points and eight assists.
Attention is now being focused on L.A.’s next game on Sunday, which will take place against none other than Stewart and the Pistons.
