After an unpleasant road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to gather themselves a little bit as they defeated the Houston Rockets 107-97 on Saturday. In this game, they demonstrated their formidable defensive prowess by forcing 16 turnovers and holding the Rockets to just slightly over 40% field goal shooting.

After Los Angeles outscored its opponent 35–14 in the second quarter, the result was all but determined. Houston never truly attempted to compete, and it seems that LeBron James and Houston head coach Ime Udoka’s argument in the fourth quarter was the tipping point.

Udoka was removed after receiving his second technical foul in addition to technical fouls from James.

When questioned later about what he said to Udoka, the Lakers player had a wacky reply.

When questioned about the identical occurrence, Udoka gave a somewhat different response.

It allegedly began when Udoka used a misogynistic insult to tell a Lakers player, most likely James, to quit whining about the officiating.

The next opportunity for Udoka’s side to take on James and his team will come on January 29, when they play in Texas. The second game of the Lakers’ six-game “Grammy” road tour will take place that evening.

In their season series with the Rockets, Los Angeles currently leads two games to one.