The Lakers had to play their game in New York without LeBron James. That came after James was suspended for one game following the incident in Detroit. LeBron hit Isaiah Stewart in the face sparking a brawl in which Stewart lost his mind.
He charged at his own coaches and players trying to get at LeBron, clearly angry about getting hit. That resulted in the league issuing a two-game suspension for Stewart, and the Lakers didn't think he reacted in the right way.
But not everyone felt that way. Lakers big man Dwight Howard spoke with GQ's Tyler R. Tynes this week, and he admitted that he would have probably reacted the same way.
In his defense, you gotta stand up for yourself. Now, was it the right time and place to do that? No. But you can't tell somebody how to react in a moment like that. Now, he also did a lot. He was enraged and upset. I can't say what he did was right, but I do understand it. Somebody hit me in my mouth and made me bleed? I'd be pissed off too. A little pride and ego probably kicked in too: you in front of 20,000 people, you bleeding from ya lip and ya eye, you don't ever want to look like that. I get most of why his reaction was the way it was.
It's sort of odd that Dwight would defend someone that went after his Lakers teammate, but also understandable. Dwight is that kind of player that doesn't let anyone push him around.
But the fight is over and done with. Lebron reportedly tried to reach out to Stewart to apologize to him for the incident, but no word if he was actually able to get into contact with him.
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