Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was visibly distraught after his team lost their third straight game this season, this time against the LA Lakers. Udoka got into referee trouble in the 4th quarter after exchanging a few words with LeBron James, his 2nd technical of the game. LeBron had walked up to the 46-year-old, who continued to talk with James in front of the referee.
Advertisement
Both received technical, with Udoka being ejected from the rest of the game, according to Sports Illustrated. Later, he was asked about the loss in the conference following the game and ended up taking a dig at the Lakers. A clip of his rant was shared on Twitter by ClutchPoints.
“We want to guard straight up and to kind of get punked by a team not known for physicality or punking people, is not a good sign,”
he said, suggesting that the reason they lost was that the Rockets failed to guard the Lakers upfront and stuck to chasing them in the paint.
“To kinda get punked by a team that’s not known for physicality or punking people is not a good sign.”
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka on the loss last night against the Lakers pic.twitter.com/AthVLMfk4W
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 3, 2023
Anthony Davis had an impressive night, finishing with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Udoka thought that his team had been punked by the Lakers, who did not necessarily have a habit of ‘punking’ teams. The head coach seemed concerned with the loss, considering it is his team’s 3rd straight, to put them at a negative 8-9 record for the season.
LeBron James jokes about his interaction with Ime Udoka
On one hand, Udoka was angry enough after his exchange with LeBron to take a dig at the Lakers, as well as lament his own team’s shortcomings. However, LeBron ended up calling his exchange with Udoka ‘friendly.’
He claimed that the two were simply having a friendly conversation. “Thanksgiving. How much we enjoyed Thanksgiving. Yeah, it was (friendly),” LeBron said.
Reporter: “What were you and Ime [Udoka] talking about?”
LeBron James: “Thanksgiving. How much we enjoyed Thanksgiving.”
“It looked very friendly.”
“Yeah, it was.” https://t.co/y6Q6rzAkaH pic.twitter.com/s4KXzgOPr8
— Oh no he didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) December 3, 2023
While he was obviously kidding, James seems utterly determined and focused on his aims for this season. He has maintained his calm despite being involved in multiple on-court altercations and has never spoken out against any of his opponents this season. LeBron, at the age of 38, still appears to mean only business and is not concerned about verbal exchanges on the floor.
