During the Lakers 112-107 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night, team center Andrew Bynum was ejected from the game for arguing with officials and chirping with the opposing bench.
Bynum, who had been at the center of some controversy before the ejection, dismissed the story when asked about it following the team’s second consecutive loss on Saturday night.
“I don’t have any regrets. Stuff happens,” Bynum said to Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles. “I was ejected for something that happens every game. People talk. It is what it is.”
The result was a very costly ejection for the Lakers, who were suddenly without their second leading scorer for the final quarter. Los Angeles ended up losing the game by just five points, and many thought that had Bynum not been ejected early in the fourth quarter they would have been able to win the game.
Coach Mike Brown, who was obviously unhappy with Bynum’s ejection after it happened, seemed to take it in stride when asked about it the next day.
“You talk to him about it but you take it in stride. We’ve had other guys from Josh McRoberts, I think, to Matt Barnes to myself get kicked out. So, that’s part of the course of the season in my opinion.”
Brown seems to be looking to limit the controversy before it gets much worse, which is probably a good sign for a Lakers team that has lost two consecutive games.
L.A. will look to get back on the winning track Monday night when they travel to New Orleans to take on the Hornets.