But this incident took things from a verbal war to physical clash and James certainly came off worse during an ugly coming together.

The Lakers were 13 points down in the fourth quarter and with the chance to claw back some of the deficit, James attempted to find the basket with a rebound. But Brooks was there at the same time, jumping at almost exactly the same time, and James took a hit to the head.

The 39-year-old collapsed in a heap as he held his face, writhing in agony on the floor. Seemingly unsympathetic, Brooks walked off to the other side of the court.

James managed to get to his feet and, as soon as he did, he ran towards the referee furiously questioning why the shooting guard was not punished for his robust challenge. At one point, James can be seen mouthing the words: “He punched me in the nose!”

Lakers struggles continue

Despite his best efforts, the Lakers fell to a 135-119 defeat and are now left with a 24-25 record for the 2023-24 season.

The Los Angeles team have lost twice in a row after losing their most recent game against the Atlanta Hawks 138-122 and have consequently fallen to ninth in the Western Conference.

James contributed 28 and 20 points in those two games respectively, proving he is still making an impact, with a 24.9 point average, 7.7 for rebounds and 7.5 for assists.

Despite playing some of the best basketball of his career, it seems that not even the six-time NBA champion and MVP can rescue them from this slump.