Deandre Ayton Ejected for First Time in Lakers’ 115-96 Loss
deandre ayton was ejected for the first time in his eight-year NBA career on Sunday, and the Lakers fell 115-96 to the Houston Rockets in Game 4. The flagrant foul 2 came with 5:41 left in the third quarter after an accidental elbow to the back of Alperen Sengun’s head.
The play ended Ayton’s night at 19 points and 10 rebounds. Houston’s win forced a Game 5 on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
Ayton, Sengun and the flagrant call
Ayton said the collision “looked crazy on camera,” but said he was bracing for contact against the 6-foot-11, 243-pound Sengun. He said his arm slipped off Sengun’s shoulder and hit his head, then added, “I’m not no guy who is a dirty player or plays like that.”
He finished with another line that showed how the sequence played out in real time: “If anything, me trying to play dirty, I’ll damn near hurt myself. I just hope he’s all right and they don’t think it was intentional.” Sengun ended with 19 points and six rebounds on six-of-12 shooting.
Rockets call the ejection soft
The reaction from Houston was blunt. Sengun called the flagrant 2 call “soft,” and Ime Udoka used the same word. Marcus Smart said, “The ejection, we all understood it was some BS, right?”
Smart also said Ayton kept his composure after leaving the game. “It’s been tough for DA,” he said, adding that the Lakers center had been taking criticism, embracing it and trying to get better. JJ Redick described him as “a sweet, just, like, kind soul.”
Lakers lose ground in Game 4
The ejection landed in a rough night for Los Angeles. The Lakers committed 24 turnovers, made only five three-pointers and trailed by as many as 26 points.
They also played without Luka Doncic, who missed the game with a hamstring injury, and Austin Reaves, who sat with an oblique injury. With the series lead cut to 3-1, the Lakers head to Game 5 needing a response after losing one of their most efficient frontcourt scorers to his first NBA ejection.
