The Rockets staved off elimination on Sunday night with a 115-96 win over the Lakers in Game 4 of their Western Conference first round series. Houston pulled away in the third quarter and the game was pretty much a dud until the referees got involved, much to the delight of all the fans.
Midway through the third quarter Deandre Ayton hit Alperen Şengün in the head with an elbow. A foul was called and the play was reviewed, as is any play where someone gets hit in the head. After watching the replay, which pretty clearly showed there was no intent and Ayton's arm just slipped as he was bracing for contact and accidentally caught a crouching Şengün in the side of the head, referee James Williams announced that it was "unnecessary and excessive" and ejected the Lakers' center.
