Robert Williams attempt to honor teammate declined after confrontation with Lakers official

The Lakers beat the Trail Blazers 124-118 on Friday, but an awkward exchange followed when Portland’s Robert Williams III tried to take the game ball for teammate Jrue Holiday. Holiday had moved into the top 100 NBA career scorers, passing Steve Nash, and Williams wanted to mark the achievement by giving him the ball.

A Lakers official told Williams the ball had to be returned to the NBA. Williams said he had forgotten the rule that players should take the ball straight to the locker room, while adding that Holiday did not seem to know about the milestone or care about keeping the ball. Holiday scored 12 points and had seven assists in 31 minutes; Portland’s defeat was its second of the season, while Luka Doncic recorded his second 50-point game of the season.