Lakers News: Luke Walton 'Loves' Argument Between Isaiah Thomas, Julius Randle

Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle and guard Isaiah Thomas had to be separated during a shouting match in Wednesday's 117-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

According to Lakers coach Luke Walton, that's just fine with him.

"I didn't see what it was about; I like it, though," Walton told reporters after the game. "I told them afterward, I love it. As long as they're open-minded and whatever they were arguing about, they get it figured out.

"We have been trying to get our guys to talk [on defense] all year long, and if it is a heated conversation, that means it is two people that are passionate about something, and we will take that on our team any day."

Randle and Thomas got into a heated verbal argument in the third quarter during a timeout, with center Brook Lopez standing between the two. Lopez and Lonzo Ball later approached Randle, who had grown incensed with Thomas for reasons neither would divulge to the media.

"That's between us," Randle said. "But like I said, it's great that we can come into games and really expect to win these games, and we expect a lot out of each other. That hasn't always been the case in the past; we weren't communicating, just let things fly. We're communicating, trying to bring the best out of each other."

Randle and Thomas both said they hashed out the issue among themselves and there would be no problem going forward. Randle said Thomas has been "great" since coming over from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade-deadline deal. Thomas said he was happy to see Randle speak up and said the disagreements just come with being a leader.

"I'm a leader," Thomas said. "It's not me getting after anybody; it's just me leading. If I see something, I'm going to say something. That goes vice versa; if they see something, they should say something. That's just how it's supposed to be on a basketball team, so there's no calling nobody out, no getting on nobody. Just doing what's best for this team."

Thomas got his first start in a Lakers uniform against Golden State, finishing with 20 points and seven assists. Randle added 22 points and 10 rebounds.