Game 1 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns had some heated encounters, but tensions peaked in the fourth quarter.
After LeBron James missed a free throw, Chris Paul locked James’ left arm as James went up for the rebound. James fell on his left shoulder and rolled around the floor in pain.
But that moment was overshadowed by what occurred a few feet away.
Immediately after James’ shot, Alex Caruso grabbed the long rebound as the referees blew the whistle to call a foul on Paul.
As Caruso maintained position, Cameron Payne rushed into Caruso, knocking him down to the floor.
Caruso got back on his feet and gave Payne a shove from behind, prompting Payne to throw the ball back at him,
Montrezl Harrell came running down the court to break it up but ended up plowing through Payne with his momentum,
Both teams started exchanging shoves, resulting in Payne’s ejection. Caruso and Harrell each received a technical foul.