Suns vs Lakers NBA 2021/22: What actually happened in the Dwight Howard/Anthony Davis scuffle?- The Los Angeles Lakers were handed their 2nd loss of the season by the team who knocked them out in the 1st round of the 2020/21 NBA Playoffs. The Phoenix Suns dominated the match and outscored the Lakers in every quarter except the 1st. Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Mikal Bridges took up the scoring responsibility for the Suns as the 3 scored 66 points combined. The shaky start for the Lakers continued as teammates Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard got involved in a heated exchange of words and some shoving in the first half of the loss against the Suns.
Amid a 27-11 run by Phoenix to take a 13-point halftime lead, Howard and Davis had to be separated by teammates after the pair engaged in a verbal spat on the sideline.
Things got chippy between Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis on the Lakers’ bench. pic.twitter.com/oZBhQ0MV7q
— ESPN (@espn) October 23, 2021
“When you’re getting your ass kicked, sometimes those conversations get heated,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “Those guys love each other. They talked it out. And that’s going to happen from time to time. I’d rather our guys care than not care.”
Suns vs Lakers: Dwight Howard/Anthony Davis scuffle
With 3 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the second quarter, following a Suns timeout, Davis confronted Howard, who was seated on the bench, prompting the Lakers backup center to spring to his feet and meet Davis eye to eye.
“We squashed it right then and there,” Howard said afterward. “We just had a disagreement about something that was on the floor. We’re both very passionate about winning. We didn’t want to lose this game, so we’re just passionate. We got it out the way. We’re grown men. Things happen. But we are going to squash this little issue between me and him, and that’s my brother, that’s my teammate.”
“It’s over with,” Davis said, explaining that the dispute was over failed execution on their pick-and-roll coverage. “After the situation happened, me and DH, we talked about it and we left it at that.”
Dwight Howard and AD got into a physical altercation on the bench…in my 42 years of being associated with the Lakers organization, I’ve never seen something like that smh
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) October 23, 2021
Suns vs Lakers NBA 2021/22: What actually happened in the Dwight Howard/Anthony Davis scuffle?
Dwight Howard Anthony Davis scuffle: Dwight Howard’s reaction
Dwight Howard said that he and Anthony Davis “squashed it” after their bench disagreement pic.twitter.com/VOtnyoo6V8
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 23, 2021
LeBron James did not take issue with the disappointment his team showed Friday, considering it a result of the standard that Los Angeles is looking to establish with its new roster.
“We’re competitors,” James said. “If you don’t get mad at certain things on the floor that you feel like you should have done better, then what are you here for? So we like that as a ballclub. We like the adversity. I like the adversity, and I like it even more when two men on the team can come together and talk about it and move on.
“That’s what real men do. They don’t let it linger. They say what you got to say and you talk about it and you move on. And that’s what they did tonight.”
Suns vs Lakers NBA 2021/22: What actually happened in the Dwight Howard/Anthony Davis scuffle?
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