Andrew Bogut had the last laugh after a tussle with LA Clippers star Blake Griffin as his Golden State Warriors snatched a 105-103 NBA home victory.
The atmosphere was anything but festive in a Christmas Day clash of Western Division rivals that featured two ejections.
Big Australian centre Bogut, not for the first time this season, was at the centre of push and shove action and was handed a technical foul.
But at least he got to see out the game. That was more than could be said for his teammate Draymond Green and Griffin.
Green was first to go after elbowing Griffin during the third quarter.
Griffin was ousted for picking up a second technical foul for his shoving incident with Bogut early in the fourth quarter. He'd got the first for exchanging words with Green after the third-quarter buzzer.
It meant the Clippers had to play the majority of the last quarter without their top scorer and perennial All-Star, leading some to suggest Bogut made a smart play as he clashed with Griffin as they went for a rebound.
For his part, Bogut suggested the incident was just part and parcel of his job.
"They're a physical team in the middle. Sometimes that's how it gets. Neither of us backed down and that's how it should be," Bogut said.
There was another skirmish at the end of the game, with Clippers forward Matt Barnes shoving Bogut.
Enforcer role aside, Bogut was a significant contributor for his team pulling down 14 rebounds and scoring 10 points in his 27 minutes on court.
Guard Klay Thompson and forward David Lee led the scoring for the Warriors with 23 points apiece while Steph Curry had nine of his 15 points in the last quarter.
