The 2018-19 NBA season met its most heated game so far on Saturday as the Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115 at the Staples Center. The game became focus first because it was the debut of LeBron James at home but then saw part of it turn into a boxing match.

The game between the Lakers and the Rockets should be fun to watch for several reasons. First, both teams lost their opener of the season and are desperate for a win. Second, Houston has been one of the league's top teams in offense with their "magic ball" style-sticking to attacking the basket and shooting three pointers, while LA's one of the best teams in transition offense with their young legs, meaning that they will present an exciting attack vs. attack game. Third, there are four superstars playing: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, James Harden and LeBron James.

The game went on like most had expected in the first 44 minutes as the Rockets was the leading side but could not reach a comfortable advantage because the Lakers kept chasing. At the 4:14 of the game, Harden scored two points for Houston while getting a foul on Brandon Ingram, who apparently was not happy before he pushed Harden in the back.

LA's Lance Stephenson immediately came and pulled Ingram away to control the situation. After everyone thought things had settled down, Houston's Chris Paul suddenly started to poke LA's Rondo in the face very hard before Rondo punched back. As the two communicated with their fists, players of the two teams came and separated them. Almost at the same time, Ingram sprinted back to join the battle and punched Paul in the back really hard.

In the end, the three men involved – Ingram, Paul and Rondo – were all ejected before the Rockets finished the game with a 15-7 run.

Paul told ESPN that he poked Rondo because Rondo spit on his face first and multiple members of his team were on his side. Rondo denied it and received support from the Lakers. His former teammate Paul Pierce at the Boston Celtics said that Paul and Rondo have not liked each other for over 10 years, and thus he's not surprised that the two finally picked a fight.

The NBA has not yet decided the punishment for the three players involved. Considering their parts in this fight, the league may not go easy, especially on Ingram who started the incident with a push and then finished it with a punch.

The Denver Nuggets achieved a big win against the Phoenix Suns 119-91 at the Pepsi Center. Center Nikola Jokic started with seven points in a row for Denver and taught a good lesson to Phoenix's first overall-pick rookie Deandre Ayton in both offense and defense. As the game went to the second half, the Nuggets expanded their lead to more than 20 points. In the end, Jokic scored 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, taking a 30+10+10 triple double while making all 11 of his shots. The last time an NBA player did this was in 1967 by Wilt Chamberlain.

The Washington Wizards lost their second game in a row as they were defeated by the Toronto Raptors at home 113-117. Though Kawhi Leonard missed the game, Kyle Lowry carried the Raptors to the final win with his 28 points and 12 assists, including a crucial three-pointer in the fourth quarter when the Wizards were catching up fast. Though Washington had to accept another loss, their guard Bradley Bill received good news as he made his fifth three-pointer in the fourth quarter, making him No.1 in the number of three-pointers (869) in Wizards history.

The other games on Saturday included: