It wasn’t a bench-clearing brawl, but the scuffle between the Lakers and Mavericks was big enough to get four players ejected.
Steve Blake and Matt Barnes of the Lakers, and the Mavericks’ Jason Terry and Brendan Haywood were ejected from Thursday night’s showdown between the two Western Conference powerhouses. Terry was given a flagrant foul 2 for the push that started it all.
The Lakers were up by 17 points in the fourth quarter with about nine minutes remaining when Terry shoved Blake to the floor for a foul. Instead of heading to the free throw line, Blake took matters into his own hands and chest bumped Terry, leading to a heated verbal exchange.
Things escalated when Barnes and Haywood got involved, but it was Barnes who lost his cool the most. When referee Joe Crawford and Dallas assistant coach Terry Stotts tried to restrain the angry L.A. guard, Barnes pushed Stotts to the ground.
Shannon Brown was later ejected in a separate incident.
Watch the video below to see all of the action.
