Lakers: Why LeBron James Went Off on Desmond Bane And the Grizzlies
It was a little bit of a frustrating game for the Lakers on Sunday night against the Grizzlies. In search of their fifth consecutive win, Los Angeles' defense failed to stop a high-powered Memphis offense and watched the lead slip away late.
But things also got a little bit chippy early in the contest. With the Lakers trailing in the second quarter, LeBron James appeared to get into it with Grizzlies' guard Desmond Bane. And it looks like it came down to a bump between the two.
Bane appeared to throw up his arm into LBJ a little bit after being fouled. James obviously did not appreciate that and gave the 23-year-old a bit of a shove after. Bane proceeded to throw out a few unsavory words that did not sit well with LeBron.
Talen Horton-Tucker comes into frame to sort of hold back James, but he wasn't going to let it go without some words. James reminded the young guard that he probably shouldn't ever do that again. He continued to chirp at Bane even when he was shooting his free-throw.
Ultimately, Bane got the last laugh in this contest. The Grizzlies rolled through the Lakers, beating them127-119. James put up another great scoring performance though, dropping 35 points of his own. Bane ended up with 23 and was very successful from beyond the arc.
Up next, the Lakers head up north to take on the Kings on Wednesday night. The last time these two teams met up, James dropped 31 on Sacramento en route to a win.