The Los Angeles Lakers entered Game 4 against the Houston Rockets with a 3-0 series lead, but the Rockets responded at the Toyota Center and won Sunday’s contest, 115-96, to stay alive in the series.
During the game, one of the biggest storylines was Lakers center Deandre Ayton’s controversial ejection midway through the third quarter.
Why Was Lakers Center Deandre Ayton Ejected During Game 4 vs. Rockets?
The Lakers were already down 19 points when Ayton was ejected with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter. On the controversial play, Ayton’s left forearm hit Alperen Şengün across the face. The initial whistle felt routine, but soon officials started huddling around the monitor, reviewing the contact, and upgrading the call.
It was deemed a flagrant-two foul and he was officially ejected. The officials explained that the elbow was “unnecessary and excessive. Ayton was playing very well prior to the ejection, finishing the game with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes. He was easily the Lakers’ most productive player on the night.
Several Lakers pleaded with the officials, arguing the contact wasn’t intentional. Reactions from outside the arena came in swiftly.
Legion Hoops was stunned: ‘This is so soft. What?!?”
JUST IN: Deandre Ayton was just ejected for this Flagrant 2 on Sengun. This is so soft. What?!? pic.twitter.com/566MaBkrig
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 27, 2026
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin laid it out plainly.
“Deandre Ayton is called for a Flagrant 2 foul for a forearm shot to the side of Alperen Şengün’s head and he is ejected,” he wrote. “The Lakers, already down 76-57 midway through the 3rd Q, lose what had been their most effective player thus far.”
Skip Bayless was direct: “Ayton did NOT deserve to be ejected.”
Ayton did NOT deserve to be ejected.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 27, 2026
Dan Woike of The Athletic gave Ayton the benefit of doubt.
“Lakers are shocked. Multiple players go to argue on his behalf,” Woike wrote. “Was a clean elbow to the face. Meets parts of the criteria. Hard time thinking it was intentional.”
After the game, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka argued otherwise: “It looked intentional. I was surprised it was a flagrant two. But that’s the NBA nowadays, and they call it a little softer than they used to.”
Ime Udoka:
“It looked intentional. I was surprised it was a flagrant 2. But that’s the NBA nowadays and they call it a little softer than they used to” https://t.co/ZPKc2jM00W pic.twitter.com/9KhlF7XP0g
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) April 27, 2026
HoopsCentral caught a different angle.
Kevin Durant, sidelined for Houston, openly mocked the ejection from the bench by waving goodbye to his former Phoenix Suns teammate Ayton as he walked off.
Kevin Durant waved goodbye after the Ayton ejection. 🤣💀
pic.twitter.com/XIFwureeWn https://t.co/fF3IZY5cE4
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 27, 2026
The Lakers are currently without Luka Dončić (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique). Ayton was anchoring the offense before the third-quarter call sent him to the locker room. Jaxson Hayes took over for Ayton after the ejection.
Los Angeles still holds a 3-1 lead as the series shifts back to Crypto.com Arena for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
This is Ayton’s first season with the Lakers after eight years split between Phoenix and Portland. He averaged 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game on 67.1% shooting across 72 regular-season contests. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, he reached the NBA Finals with the Suns in 2021.
A flagrant-two foul carries an automatic ejection. Any supplemental discipline from the league office comes later, but if the reaction from the NBA world is any indication, further punishment seems unlikely.
