HOUSTON (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton was ejected in the third quarter of a Game 4 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday night after receiving a flagrant foul 2 for hitting Alperen Sengun in the face with his elbow and forearm.
A foul was called after Ayton hit Sengun when he had the ball and was heading toward the basket with about 5½ minutes left in the third quarter. The play was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant foul 2 and Ayton was ejected.
The referee announcing the foul called the contact "unnecessary and excessive.”
“We’re both sweaty guys,” Ayton said. “I just slipped off his shoulder and literally my elbow hit him right there above his shoulders and it looked crazy on camera. But I’m not no guy who’s a dirty player or plays like that. ... I just hope he’s all right and didn’t think it was intentional.”
Players and coaches from both teams questioned whether Ayton should have been ejected.
“It looked intentional, but I was surprised at the flagrant 2,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “But that’s the NBA nowadays and they call it a little softer than they used to.”
Sengun was glad that they called it, but wasn't sure if it was worthy of an ejection.
“I don’t want to make the officials crazy, but I didn’t expect him to get ejected, to be honest,” he said. “I think it was a little bit soft.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick said Ayton would never do something like that on purpose.
“He’s got such a sweet, kind soul, and no, that wasn’t dirty or intentional,” he said. “It looked from our vantage point like he was trying to brace himself with that off arm ... and it looked like his arm just kind of slipped and obviously hit him in the head.”
The Lakers trailed 76-57 at the time of the foul and lost 115-96 to send the series back to Los Angeles Wednesday night. Ayton led the team with 19 points and 10 rebounds despite the ejection.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) controls the ball against Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) during the first half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
A man who opened fire in the West Texas city of Midland in an attack Friday morning that left one person dead and 10 injured had shot at a police officer just days earlier during a chase, authorities said.
The suspect, 45-year-old Victor Mata Villarreal, already was being sought by authorities when he began firing at police and bystanders in Midland on Friday before barricading himself in an abandoned veterinary clinic, where he was eventually found dead, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Police have provided limited details about how the shooting unfolded. Police arrived in the area after receiving reports of an active shooter, and Mata Villarreal started firing at officers, said Midland Police Chief Greg Snow. Several officers were pinned down behind their patrol cars and had to be rescued by an armored vehicle, Snow said, but no officers were shot.
Police then got everyone out of the area. “We moved to deny more targets for this active shooter,” Snow said.
A few hours after the shooting began, authorities used robot and drone footage from inside the building to confirm the shooter was dead, Midland Mayor Lori Blong. Police did not say how he died.
A spokesperson for the city identified a man killed in the shooting as Ed Scott, a father and husband who worked in solid waste for Midland. He also did a lot of work with local and regional softball organizations, according to the city.
Friends mourning his death described him in social media posts as a softball umpire and volleyball official who was known for his kindness and jokes.
Mata Villarreal, of nearby Odessa, was wanted for attempted capital murder of a peace officer after firing multiple times at a Midland police officer on Wednesday, the state’s public safety agency said.
The officer, who wasn't injured, fired back after initially trying to pull over Mata Villarreal, who drove away, investigators said. His vehicle was found empty a short distance away, they said. Police have not said why the officer tried to stop Mata Villarreal.
Friday’s standoff happened about a half-mile (1 kilometer) from where the shots were fired at the police officer Wednesday.
Police have not said why Mata Villarreal began shooting on Friday or provided any details about the victims, including who they were, how they were shot or the conditions of those still hospitalized.
Midland Memorial Hospital said four people who were brought there underwent surgery and that five had been treated and released.
Calls to numbers listed for some relatives of Mata Villarreal in Texas went unanswered Friday or appeared to be lines that had been disconnected.
Mata Villarreal had several previous encounters with law enforcement, including some arrests, records show.
He was convicted on a 2009 charge of unlawfully carrying a firearm in San Angelo, according to Texas criminal history records.
He was charged in 2003 and 2004 for unlawfully carrying a weapon and unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon, but both cases appear to have been dismissed as part of a plea. He also pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge in 2008 that was later dismissed.
As police responded to Friday's shooting, dozens of squad cars and law enforcement vehicles descended along what’s normally a busy roadway lined with hotels and auto businesses a few miles west of Midland’s downtown.
Andrea Mendias said she heard what sounded like a small explosion at the closed veterinary clinic next to the auto body shop where she works and saw a number of heavily armed police officers rush into the parking lot. Some appeared to go inside the building.
Mendias said she earlier heard what sounded like at least 40 gunshots.
Video from Mendias showed officers pouring out of the back of an armored police vehicle and police deploying robots into the area.
The city with about 140,000 residents sits in the heart of the state’s oil and gas region and was near the site of a deadly shooting rampage in 2019.
In that shooting, a gunman who had been fired from his oil services job killed seven people and wounded two dozen others while firing at random as he drove around the Odessa and Midland areas. The two cities are more than 300 miles (482 kilometers) west of Dallas.
Associated Press reporters Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed.
Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (B. Kay Richter/Reporter-Telegram via AP) CORRECTION: Corrects byline to B. Kay Richter instead of Luke Dias.
Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (B. Kay Richter/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (B. Kay Richter/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
Councilwoman Amy Stretcher Burkes, Mayor Lori Blong, Councilman John Norman, Councilwoman-At-Large Robin Poole, and Councilman-At-Large John Burkholder provide information at a news conference about the active shooting on Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
A helicopter flys over an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
