LeBron suspended 1 game, Stewart 2 games for altercation
Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) is held back after a foul during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, in Detroit. [(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)]
(AP) – LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended for one game and Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart was suspended two games for their roles in an ugly incident during Sunday’s Lakers-Pistons game.
The NBA announced the suspensions Monday, and both will affect games on Tuesday. James will not play when the Lakers visit Madison Square Garden to play the New York Knicks. Stewart will miss the Pistons’ home game against Miami on Tuesday and their game at Milwaukee on Wednesday. It is the first suspension in the 19-year career of James, who has won four NBA titles with three teams.
The league says Stewart was disciplined for “escalating an on-court altercation by repeatedly and aggressively pursuing … James in an unsportsmanlike manner.” It says James merited the suspension “for recklessly hitting Stewart in the face and initiating an on-court altercation.”