Lakers News: Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard Reactions to In-Game Scuffle

Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard looked like they were close to coming to blows.

It’s already Game 2 of the young NBA season, and the Lakers are already showing the drama that will continue throughout the season. As previously covered, Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis had to be separated on the bench during a timeout of the second quarter, because it looked like their shouting match would have further escalated.

Over the years, Howard has been known to be a menace on the court for opponents, often times throwing cheap elbow shots or causing arguments that has earned him a somewhat dirty reputation to referees.

After Davis grabbed Howard’s arms, he pushed Howard, causing the veteran to fall backwards towards the bench. Several Lakers jumped to separate the two, as even Davis’ personal security guard had to intervene and ease the tense confrontation.

Howard did not play in the second half, and coach Frank Vogel and Howard both said that it had nothing to do with the altercation, rather with rotations.

After the game, Howard was asked about the disagreement and he quickly downplayed it.

"We squashed it right then and there. We just had a disagreement about something that was on the floor. We're both very passionate about winning. We didn't want to lose this game, so we're just passionate. We got it out the way. We're grown men, things happen. But we are going to squash this little issue between me and him, and that's my brother, that's my teammate."

Dwight Howard said that he and Anthony Davis “squashed it” after their bench disagreement pic.twitter.com/VOtnyoo6V8

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 23, 2021

Davis did not have much to add on the quarrel between the two during his press conference. The dispute originated because of a botched rotation on a pick and roll coverage. All through the night, the Lakers seemed to be a step slow on the defensive end, and that was the main factor why they were run out of the building.

“It’s over with. After the situation happened, me and DH, we talked about it and we left it at that.”

Disagreements and confrontations between teammates happen in the league. It’s like any human beings, sometimes coworkers at any job would argue amongst each other about things. But much of them usually happen during practices or away from the public. The fact that this escalated into the public eye shows that the chemistry is not there yet (obviously, since the season just started). Remember when Kevin Durant and Draymond Green had an argument on the bench, which the media overblew and made it a singular point as to why Durant left Golden State. With the Lakers struggling, don’t be surprised if the media continues to talk about this for days.