Not that Brooklyn was at full strength, either, with James Harden (right hamstring) out and Kevin Durant on a minutes restriction in just his second game back from an extended hamstring injury of his own.

after the run-in between Irving and Schroder, with the Lakers going on an extended 57-33 run from that point until there were only a couple of minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter.

The pair of point guards exchanged words after Irving was called for a personal foul on Schroder with 9 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter and the Lakers ahead 66-62, prompting referee Zach Zarba to separate the two and issue a double technical foul -- one to each player.

Irving and Schroder continued to jaw at each other after teammates intervened to step between them when Irving was called for a second technical foul by referee Tyler Ford, resulting in an automatic ejection.

Schroder was issued a second technical foul of his own shortly thereafter by referee Jason Goldenberg.

"I think it was unnecessary," Schroder said after the game.

"And so when Irving couldn't stop yelling at Schroder, he was then assessed his second technical foul and ejected.

And after Irving's ejection, if you look at the video, Schroder kind of waves goodbye to him in a taunting manner, and that's why he was issued a second technical foul and ejected."

"We were in the game, but I'm not going to blame it on the ejection for why the momentum switched," said Durant, who scored 22 points in 24 minutes but also had eight turnovers