Thunder vs. Lakers Video: Watch Metta World Peace Knee Russell Westbrook

Metta World Piece and Russell Westbrook got tangled up while fighting for a loose ball in Game 3 of their playoffs series Friday night, and toward the end of the scrum, the Los Angeles Lakers forward kneed the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard before walking away.

After watching the incident unfold live, it looked like World Peace kneed Westbrook on purpose before players and referees could break the two up.

However, after watching the replay, it appears that Westbrook hit the back of World Peace's leg and that made him fall toward the floor onto the Thunder guard.

Both players received technical fouls for their part in the scrum, which really wasn't necessary but it will help the referees control the game and help prevent future scrums from happening.

Royce Young of Daily Thunder summed up the situation nicely by saying: 

"

You can understand someone initially seeing the knee as intentional though, given Metta World Peace's very decorated past.

— Royce Young (@dailythunder) May 19, 2012"

Westbrook definitely overreacted when defending himself on the floor with the ball, and I think he was just frustrated more than anything else. The Thunder were playing catch up the whole first half and trailed going into halftime.

Even though this incident was an overreaction by all players involved, and nothing dirty was done, it will still add to the dislike both teams have toward each other and help the intensity of this series build.

This series is starting to get very physical, and both teams need to keep their emotions in check so they don't do anything stupid that could result in a suspension.

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