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Carmelo Anthony of the LA Lakers was involved in a verbal altercation with several Philadelphia 76ers fans on Thursday's night game at the Wells Fargo Center. A total of three spectators were ejected from the arena with about seven minutes left in the game.
During a possession by the LA Lakers, Sixers forward Georges Niang committed a foul with 7:01 left on the clock and Philly leading 94-78. Anthony walked in the direction of a pair of Sixers fans behind courtside near halfcourt and proceeded to have a verbal exchange full of expletives.
"You got the right one. F**k you. F**k you talking about," Anthony said.
You can watch the video of the exchange below.
Officials and Lakers players quickly came in between Anthony and the pair of fans. Security then escorted the duo out of the arena. But as things were unfolding, Carmelo went at it with another fan who was seated courtside, this time near the corner of the floor, before Joel Embiid intervened and calmed things down.
A third fan was also escorted out of the arena by security due to the incident. Before leaving, that fan riled up the crowd as the Sixers went on to defeat the Lakers, 105-87. It was the Sixers' third straight win, while it was the Lakers' sixth defeat in their last 10 games.
Carmelo Anthony explains verbal exchange with Sixers' fans after the game
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, one of the fans that got ejected was apparently calling Carmelo Anthony a "boy" repeatedly. For those who do not know, "boy" is a deragotory term if used on a black man, especially by someone who is white.
Anthony confirmed after the game that the term "boy" was used by both sets of hecklers he confronted. The 19-year NBA veteran explained that he's used to trash talking and heckling, but would not stay quiet if lines were crossed.
"I'm cool with fans heckling, fans talking trash, cheering for their team, booing the other team, I'm all for that. But when you cross certain lines, as a man, you just, that's what you're going to see. That's what you're going to get, as you saw there," Anthony said.
According to ESPN, only one fan was fully ejected from the arena and Wells Fargo Center will determine further punishment for the hecklers. Carmelo Anthony finished the game with nine points, three rebounds and one assist.
Anthony Davis led the way for the LA Lakers with 31 points and 12 rebounds, but that wasn't enough. LeBron James missed the game with a sore knee. The Lakers will travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Friday night before battling the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday for the final game of their current six-game road trip.
Guess the Lakers players!
