Nikola Vucevic was sent off before halftime due to a violent reaction after a foul on LeBron James
Montenegrin basketball player Nikola Vucevic was suspended from the game Los Angeles Lakers – Chicago Bulls after a foul on LeBron James in the second quarter. At that moment, his bulls led 61:47 and controlled the score, and Lebron entered the racket next to Nikola and got a shot. Whether that blow was as strong as James presented it and whether Vucevic got rightfully angry and even cursed the referee with “Mrš, je**m ti mito”, see on the video:
Nikola Vucevic ejected for this.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral)March 26, 2023
LeBron James returned in this game after a long break, during which he missed as many as 13 games, due to a tendon injury in his right foot, so it is to some extent expected that the referees take extra care of roughness on one of the league’s biggest stars. He entered the game after six and a half minutes of the game and it was only his second match that started as a reserve in his entire career, and he played 1,414 games!
The last time LeBron was not a starter was more than 15 years ago, in December 2007, when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and gave way to Anderson Varejao, who was then in a dispute with the club. During that period, the Brazilian received whistles from the stands and in order to avoid them, Lebron agreed to sit on the bench. This time, however, the reason is his health, but also the Lakers’ need for the “king” to return at the end of the season. In his absence, the Lakers achieved a score of 8-5, and even with him, they still did not manage to avoid a defeat against Chicago – and a convincing one at that.
Even without Nikola Vucevic, the Bulls won 104:86, and Chicago playmaker Zack Lavin led the team with 27 points. The Bulls are in a tight fight for the play-in, because they have a score of 35-38 and this victory will mean a lot to them in that fight. Check out the NBA standings: