LeBron James was likely happy with his 39-point performance against the Indiana Pacers Sunday night, but he wasn’t happy with what was taking place court side.
During overtime, the Los Angeles Lakers star walked to a referee and had two Pacers fans ejected.
It wasn’t clear what the fans said, but James had apparently had enough.
“Nothing is uncomfortable for me, but there is a difference between cheering on your home faithful or booing opponents…not wanting your opponents to be successful, and then there are moments where it goes outside the line with gestures and words that shouldn’t be tolerated in our game. From nobody,” James said in postgame comments reported by Yahoo Sports. “Things I would never say to a fan, and a fan should never say to a player.”
NBA spokesman Mike Bass later issued a statement to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, saying, “The fans were ejected for violating the NBA Fan Code of Conduct.”
Charnia added that the two fans made inappropriate comments and gestures toward James but that no lifetime ban or further consequence is expected.
