LeBron James suspended after Isaiah Stewart altercation, Lakers star tries to apologise

LeBron James will serve a one-game suspension for initiating an on-court altercation after he struck Detroit Pistons player Isaiah Stewart in the face. The incident saw both players ejected as security alongside players and staff of both teams tried to defuse the situation with Stewart unwilling to stand down.

Stewart is facing a two-game suspension despite being the victim of James' stray hand that left him bloodied. The power forward's punishment is because he refused to back down and continued to repeatedly and aggressively pursue the Los Angeles Lakers star.

"LeBron James has been suspended one game without pay for recklessly hitting Stewart in the face and initiating an on-court altercation, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations," a statement from the NBA read, as per Marc J. Spears.

The four-time NBA champion will miss the Lakers' trip to the Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Stewart, will miss the Pistons' home game against Miami Heat on Tuesday and their game at the Fiserv Arena against Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in the third quarter when James and Stewart were jostling for position during a free throw. As the Lakers star tried to get free from Stewart his swinging arm caught Stewart and the Pistons forward went down with blood streaming down his face.

After the initial calm, Stewart got increasingly infuriated and refused to calm down. He was seen charging through a crowd of security and players trying to get at James, and was even seen going after the Lakers forward in the tunnel after the two players were ejected.

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, James was keen to apologise to Stewart about the incident and was trying to get the Pistons player's phone number. The four-time league MVP was keen to tell him that the hit on his face was not deliberate, but inadvertent.