The Los Angeles Lakers won a hard-fought game against the New York Knicks on Thursday night, but the action on the floor wasn’t the most-talked about altercation at Crypto.com Arena.

ESPN will pay Stephen A. Smith $100 million to work less and talk more about politics

A video of LeBron James confronting ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went viral after the game, as fans looked to analyze the on-court faceoff between the NBA legend and the sports media superstar.

Smith confirmed that the interaction took place during Friday’s episode of “First Take,” despite saying multiple times that he initially did not want to discuss it.

Smith revealed that James approached him as a father instead of a basketball player, and that he wanted Smith to stop talking about his son and Lakers teammate Bronny James.

Many believed that this altercation took place after the game between the Knicks and Lakers, but new video shows that the two had the conversation right before the fourth quarter.

The Lakers controlled the game down the stretch to win their eighth in a row in Thursday’s overtime thriller.

James scored 12 points across the fourth quarter and overtime to give his team the win, as they continue to rise in the Western Conference.

At their current pace, the Lakers would be a lock for at least the No. 2 seed in the West – a stark contrast to their outlook at the beginning of the season.

Lakers star LeBron James.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 26: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the first half of the Emirates NBA Cup game against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on November 26, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Trading for a player like Luka Doncic has the potential to revitalize any team or lineup in the league, but the Lakers have been more engaged and locked in defensively since the trade as well.

Los Angeles will look for win No. 9 in a row in a massive matchup on Saturday night. They’ll head east to take on the defending champion Boston Celtics, who enter at No. 2 in the Eastern conference this season.

Lebron James háo hức hướng tới trận đấu lịch sử | VTV.VN

Celtics-Lakers has a ton of intrigue nearly every time the two teams play, regardless of what’s at stake. Saturday night may only be a regular season meeting, but it could be a preview of this year’s NBA Finals.

We’ll see which team comes out on top when the Lakers bring their eight-game winning streak into Boston to face the Celtics. Fans can catch the game at 8:30 PM on ABC.