Ime Udoka ejected after confrontation with LeBron James
Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was unceremoniously tossed Saturday from his team’s contest against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers led the Rockets 93-77 with 8:35 left in the game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif.
Rockets forward Tari Eason was awarded two free throws after being fouled by Lakers wing Cam Reddish. The former Duke standout gave the LSU alum a light bump, which led to a minor fracas between Rockets and Lakers players. Reddish was whistled for a technical foul.
Cam Reddish Walks into Tari Eason and gets a technical
Prince also shoves Tari
Ime Udoka gets ejected
Lebron gets a technical
madness lol pic.twitter.com/LW5U9EY0gQ
— Tedd Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) December 3, 2023
As Rockets guard Fred VanVleet shot the technical free throw, James and Udoka began to chirp at one another. Veteran referee J.T. Orr penalized both James and Udoka with technicals over their animated exchange. Udoka, who had received his first technical foul in the second quarter, was ejected from the contest.
Ime Udoka got ejected after having some words with Bron 👀 pic.twitter.com/GzNak5ZLzn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 3, 2023
The fiery moment from Udoka was not enough to galvanize Houston into mounting a comeback. The Lakers held off the Rockets the rest of the way for a 107-97 victory.
James had a relatively quiet night with 16 points, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers. But he did pull off an epic 360 layup that left his Lakers teammates and the internet in disbelief (video here).
The Rockets, meanwhile, continued their struggles on the road. The loss worsened their road record to 0-8 for the season.
