Jarred Vanderbilt put his finger in Jeremy Sochan’s face on Wednesday night, and the action nearly resulted in the Lakers and Spurs brawling.
The altercation occurred just seconds after Los Angeles lost to San Antonio, 107-91, at the Frost Bank Center in Texas.
Vanderbilt approached Sochan after the game’s final whistle, and after standing just inches from the Spurs’ face, the two appeared to exchange words.
San Antonio guard De’Aaron Fox got between the boys and tried to separate them before things escalated, but as Vanderbilt was led away he forcefully poked Sochan in the mouth.
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie then pushed Vanderbilt away, and players from both teams rushed to the scene.
Cooler heads prevailed and all sides headed to their respective dressing rooms.
Vanderbilt didn’t speak to reporters about the ordeal afterward, but Sochan did, and he seemed to make light of it.
“I must have said something to him during the match, and maybe it wasn’t very nice,” Sochan said with a smile. “He must have taken it the wrong way and told me to come see him after the game. So I did. And we just had a polite conversation.”
“I was, I think, intact and very happy, but the other person wasn’t. Yeah, he just wasn’t emotionally stable at the time. So it’s something he has to work on. And it’s just life.”
Vanderbilt played 18 minutes in the game and scored four points on 2-for-6 shooting. Sochan scored six points in eleven minutes.
The Lakers, playing without LeBron James, had their three-game winning streak snapped by the loss, despite Luka Doncic’s triple-double. They play the Bucks at home on Friday.
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