LeBron James welcomes fans back despite courtside altercation as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks
LeBron James remained nonplussed after an altercation with a fan during the LA Lakers' 107-99 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night; "At the end of the day, I'm happy fans are back in the building. I missed that interaction. I need that interaction," he said
Tuesday 2 February 2021 11:18, UK
A general rule to live by is that if LeBron James is in town playing against your team, and you're fortunate enough to have courtside seats for the occasion, you should probably just keep quiet. Heckling The King doesn't usually end well.
Last week, during James' return to Cleveland, a member of the Cavaliers' front office no less celebrated a missed shot a little bit too enthusiastically.
James quietly took note and went on to put up 46 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, including 21 points in the final quarter to lead the Lakers to the win.
On Monday night as the Lakers beat the Hawks 107-99, a more heated incident occurred.
Two supporters with courtside seats could be heard heckling James in the fourth quarter, leading to the four-time MVP to respond in kind with a few choice words of his own.
The incident led to the two fans being ejected from the arena by security as the Lakers eventually closed out the win.
Reflecting on the incident after the game, James insisted he was still glad to welcome fans back into NBA arenas, even adding that he didn't think they should have been removed from the game.
"At the end of the day, I'm happy fans are back in the building. I missed that interaction. I need that interaction. We as players need that interaction," he said.
"I didn't think it warranted that they should be kicked out. There was a back-and-forth between two grown men. We said our piece. He said his piece, I said my piece.
"Then someone else jumped into it and said their piece. But I didn't think they should have been kicked out.
"But they might have had a couple of drinks, maybe and they could have kept it going and the game wouldn't have been about the game anymore. So I think the referees did what they had to do."
The disruption did little to impact James' performance as he scored the Lakers' final nine points to ice the game, including going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
He also produced a crucial block from behind on Hawks' center Clint Capela down the stretch and a magical pass for a Kyle Kuzma corner three early in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers now move to 16-6 for the season but remain third in the West behind the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz. They return to the Staples Center for a five-game homestand beginning with the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
