Staples Center
After last night’s shoving match against the Portland Trailblazers, Lakers’ swingman Trevor Ariza apologized and hoped that he isn’t going to be suspended by Stu Jackson.
“Honestly, there’s nothing I can do about that ,” Ariza said to the LA Times. “I hope it doesn’t happen. But I was just trying to go for the ball. I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody or do anything like that.”
Ariza was given a Type 2 flagrant foul and was ejected from the game, but he stayed on the court long enough for there to be more pushing, shoving and trash talking. Ariza even raised his hand in an attempt to swing, but he didn’t connect with anyone.
“It’s expected,” Ariza said about the Trail Blazers’ reaction to Fernandez’s hard fall. “That’s one of their teammates. If it was one of my teammates, I’d probably do the same thing. I know it’s no hard feelings. They were just protecting a teammate.” Fernandez’s neck was put in a brace, and he was taken off on a stretcher.
He got a CT scan Monday night after the game, and X-rays were negative. He stayed overnight at a hospital for observation after suffering a soft-tissue injury to his right upper chest.