Chris Paul Says Rajon Rondo Spit on Him Before Brawl Involving Brandon Ingram

Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo reportedly spit on Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul before a fight broke out between the two teams during Saturday night's matchup.

Whether he did so intentionally or accidentally—or if it came from someone else entirely—while the two were jawing remains unclear:

Paul appeared to wipe his face while the two were having words after a foul on James Harden before Paul pushed his finger into Rondo's face and neck area. Rondo then hit Paul with a left hook, and players from both teams raced in to break up the altercation, though Brandon Ingram took a swing at Paul as well.

Both teams told a different story after the game, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN: 

"That's unacceptable," Carmelo Anthony said of the alleged spit, per Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. "You don't do that to nobody. Not in sports. In the streets, that's blatant disrespect. That's unacceptable."

But Lonzo Ball said he didn't see Rondo spit on Paul.

"I didn't see that," he said. "I saw Chris Paul touch his face [and] then go from there."

And so various theories over Spitgate have emerged: 

Regardless, suspensions and fines for Paul, Rondo and Ingram seem likely, with the NBA expected to reach a verdict on the incident as early as Sunday, per Wojnarowski. 

As for the game itself, the Rockets won 124-115 behind Harden's 36 points. Tensions began escalating with about seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, when James Ennis clotheslined Josh Hart to prevent a fast-break layup but was only called for a flagrant 1, annoying Lakers players.

Ingram was then given a technical for shoving Harden after he was whistled for a foul, before Paul and Rondo came together and mayhem broke loose.

"I think they was picking on him," Lance Stephenson said of Ingram while describing his technical foul, according to Ganguli. "That's why I tried to grab him as quickly as possible and tell him, 'Hey, don't fall for the trick.' And umm, I guess we fell for it."