LeBron James returned from a one-game suspension on Wednesday and made clear he didn’t believe he should’ve missed any games over the incident between the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
James and Pistons center Isaiah Stewart got tangled up in the third quarter on Sunday and the Lakers superstar elbowed Stewart in the eyeball. The hit caused Stewart to become irate and try to go after James a few times. Stewart was also bleeding from his eye.
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Isaiah Stewart of the Detroit Pistons is restrained after receiving a blow to the face by LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter of the game at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 21, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan.
(Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Both players were suspended – James getting a one-game ding while Stewart got two.
On Wednesday night, after James got two Indiana Pacers fans kicked out of the game, he defended himself over the incident over the weekend.
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Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) is held back after a foul during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, in Detroit.
(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
“[Lakers GM Rob Pelinka] called me. I missed his call. As soon as when I checked my phone and it was a missed call, I was like, ‘I know I’m suspended.’ I mean, it’s some bull—-. But whatever,” James said, via ESPN.
“There was a box-out on the free-throw line. His elbow got kind of high, it got me — if you look, if you watch the film — it got me off balanced a little bit, and his elbow lifted my arm, and I basically tried to swim move, swim down on him, on his arm. And when I swung down on his arm, he got off balance and the left side of my hand grazed his face. And I knew right away. So, I knew right away I had caught some part of his head. So, I went over to apologize to him, and obviously, you guys saw what happened after that. But definitely accidental.”
Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (6) is defended by Indiana Pacers’ Malcolm Brogdon (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021, in Indianapolis.
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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It was the first time James was suspended in his career.