Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Los Angeles Lakers forward Trevor Ariza was ejected after committing a flagrant foul on Portland's Rudy Fernandez, sparking a melee between the teams.
Ariza ran down Fernandez and clipped the top of his head with a swipe of the arm on a layup attempt with 2.2 ticks left in the third. The Trail Blazers took exception and shoves were traded, most notably between Ariza and Portland's Brandon Roy.
Meanwhile Fernandez remained on the floor under the basket and was removed via a stretcher with a precautionary neck brace. The Spanish guard-forward was taken to the hospital where he reported having chest discomfort. The impact of the fall was centered near his left hip.
"It was tough. It was an emotional shift (from being up so big until Rudy went down). Its hard to watch your teammate laying down and them bringing out a stretcher. That was a tough moment for all of us. I know I wanted to go over there and talk to him and see how he was doing. I think they made their run but we finally bounced back and played hard for him, not only for ourselves," Roy said.
The Blazers won, 111-94.
