The NBA suspended Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram (four games), guard Rajon Rondo (three games) and Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul (two games), all without pay, for their roles in a fourth-quarter fight on Saturday night in Los Angeles. "Ingram has been suspended for aggressively returning to and escalating the altercation and throwing a punch in the direction of Paul, confronting a game official in a hostile manner, and instigating the overall incident by shoving Rockets guard James Harden," the league said in a statement. "Rondo has been suspended for instigating a physical altercation with, and spitting and throwing multiple punches at, Paul. Paul has been suspended for poking at and making contact with the face of Rondo, and throwing multiple punches at him." Rondo received one more game than Paul because he threw the first punch, NBA vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe, who was in attendance for Saturday night's skirmish, told SportsCenter on Sunday night. "We try to judge each one of these [incidents] on the merits: who does what, who instigates, how dangerous the situation becomes and is," VanDeWeghe said. "And also the discipline is an act of deterrence. We want to make sure that we deter this further action and make a statement that this is not acceptable. Fighting's not acceptable in our league and never has been." Paul began serving his suspension on Sunday night, when the Rockets lost to the Clippers 115-112 at Staples Center. Houston coach Mike D'Antoni disagreed with the severity of Paul's penalty. "It's just not equitable,'' he said. "If you wanted to suspend him one [game] I get it, just to make a statement. Then you're talking monetarily, he's paying three times more than the other guys are paying for missing games? That doesn't seem to be right.'' Harden, for his part, said of the suspensions and fines handed down by the league: "It is what it is. "I don't know how to decide how many games.'' Eric Gordon, who started in place of Paul against the Clippers, defended his teammate, saying, "If somebody is attacking you, you got to somewhat protect yourself.'' With 4 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the game Saturday and the Rockets ahead 109-108, a fight occurred with multiple participants. The NBA was evaluating a video shot courtside that appeared to capture Rondo spitting into the face of Paul at Staples Center, league sources told ESPN earlier Sunday. The Rockets' video staff took the footage courtside during the game, and it was shared with the league office, sources said. When asked earlier Sunday if Rondo spit on Paul, Lakers coach Luke Walton said, "No." The Lakers met as a team on Sunday in their film room and discussed the brawl. Rondo and Ingram practiced Sunday but did not talk with reporters. "We've learned from the experience, and we're moving on," Walton said before the suspensions came down. "We learned -- everyone learns something differently, but we brought it up, we talked about it, the message was delivered. And now it's about next man up, moving forward, and keep positive, keep getting better."<doc-sep>Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo and Lakers forward Brandon Ingram are all going to miss some time. The NBA suspended Paul two games, Rondo three games and Ingram four games Sunday following their brawl during Saturday's showdown at Staples Center, via Howard Beck of Bleacher Report: Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press shared the financial implications of the suspensions: It took a lot to overshadow LeBron James' home debut in a Lakers jersey, but the melee that broke out with four minutes and 13 seconds remaining in Houston's 124-115 victory did the trick. All three players were ejected following a fight that saw Ingram shove James Harden, Paul stick a finger in Rondo's face, Rondo punch Paul and Ingram throw additional punches. James helped break up the fight by bear-hugging Paul and moving him away from the action. On top of all that, there was the question of whether Rondo instigated the altercation with the Rockets point guard by spitting in his face. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the NBA was investigating a video Rockets staff shot that seemed to catch Rondo spitting at his counterpart even though the Lakers point guard said he didn't. Video Play Button Videos you might like Rachel Nichols of ESPN shared the video in question: Rockets forward Carmelo Anthony said Rondo did spit on Paul, per Josh Peter of USA Today: "That's unacceptable. You don't do that. You don't do that, to nobody. In sports, on the streets, that's blatant disrespectful right there." Wojnarowski noted NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe attended the game and spearheaded the league's investigation. That investigation uncovered enough evidence to levy suspensions for all three primary actors in the brawl, meaning two of the Western Conference's contenders will be without key playmakers for the upcoming stretch of the schedule. The silver lining for both sides is it is still early in the season, but the absence of Rondo and Ingram hinders Los Angeles' development as the players grow accustomed to playing alongside James. Houston can still turn to Harden to initiate much of the offense in a scoring point guard role, while the Lakers have Lonzo Ball to handle the ball and James and Kyle Kuzma as forwards.<doc-sep>After Saturday’s mini-melee at Staples Center, it wasn’t a question of if the suspensions would come, but when. That question was answered Sunday night, as the NBA announced punishments for the three players at the center of a brawl during Lakers-Rockets: Los Angeles forward Brandon Ingram was suspended four games, L.A. guard Rajon Rondo was suspended three games and Houston guard Chris Paul got two games. NBA suspensions for last night's fracas: Brandon Ingram, 4 games Rajon Rondo, 3 games Chris Paul, 2 games pic.twitter.com/cnovPAR6a9 — Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) October 21, 2018 The incident happened late in the fourth quarter when Rondo took a swing at Paul after Paul put his hand in the veteran point guard’s face. Ingram came sprinting into the fray and threw a pretty big haymaker, hence him getting the heaviest suspension. All things considered, these punishments aren’t too severe, considering there was video appearing to show Rondo spitting in Paul’s face. The NBA’s announcement confirmed Rondo’s unsanitary act, but his suspension only will sideline him until this Saturday, while Ingram won’t return until Monday.<doc-sep>
Brandon Ingram received four-game suspension for his actions during a brawl between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets on Saturday, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He won’t be the only player missing time. The league handed out suspensions to both Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo as well. Sources: NBA suspensions – Brandon Ingram 4 games; Rajon Rondo 3 games; Chris Paul 2 games. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 21, 2018 All three players threw punches during the fight. Ingram was initially at the center of the dispute, and was hit with the longest suspension. Rondo and Paul went at it once Ingram was dragged away from the action. The two started throwing punches after Rondo spit on Paul. The NBA reviewed tape of the incident, and factored the spit into their decision. After Paul and Rondo began fighting, Ingram re-entered the fray and threw a punch. The incident started after Ingram fouled James Harden late in the fourth quarter. Ingram disagreed with the call and pushed Harden in the back, drawing a technical. Lance Stephenson jumped in to pull Ingram away from the fight, and that’s when Rondo and Paul started going at it. The fight marred what should have been an exciting night for the Lakers, as it was LeBron James’ home debut. The Lakers went on to lose the game 124-115. The Rockets and Lakers were involved in a brawl Saturday night. (AP Photo) – – – – – – – Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! More from Yahoo Sports: • Bowl projections: Big Ten leader Michigan in running for CFP spot • Tim Brown: Yasiel Puig puts mustard on Dodgers’ NL pennant • Rondo-CP3 brawl grips NBA during LeBron’s home debut in L.A. • Pete Thamel: 10 takeaways include Ohio State’s shocking loss at Purdue