NBA

Lebron James tried to contact Stewart to apologize for striking his face - report

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James tried to track down Isaiah Stewart's phone number so he could apologize for striking the Pistons center in the face with an errant swinging arm in Sunday's game, The Athletic reported on Monday.

The incident led the bloodied Stewart to fly into a rage and ended with both players ejected from the game in Detroit, which the Lakers won 121-116. The league is reviewing whether to levy additional penalties against the players.

"I'm told LeBron James did try to track down Isaiah Stewart's number post-game to apologize to Stewart again and let him know it was an inadvertent hit to his face," Athletic reporter Shams Charania said on "The Pat McAfee Show."

Four-time NBA champion James, 36, is playing in his 19th NBA season and has only been ejected from one other game in his career in November 2017 against the Miami Heat.

Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said the 20-year-old Stewart had eight stitches and hoped the center would not be suspended for repeatedly trying to confront James after the incident. -- Reuters