LOS ANGELES -- Bad blood simmering since the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the Sacramento Kings from last season's Western Conference Finals boiled over Friday night when the Lakers' Rick Fox got into a fight on and off court with the Kings' Doug Christie.

	Shaquille O'Neal got involved in the pushing and shoving between the teams in the tunnel at Staples Center.

The altercation began just 2:07 into the game after Fox took a pass and turned, hitting Christie with an elbow and knocking him to the floor. When Christie got up the two scuffled, shoving and throwing punches, as players from both teams ran toward the action.

Both players were ejected and quickly left the court, but Fox ran to the tunnel leading to the visiting team's locker room, where he grabbed the surprised Christie in a headlock. The two then scuffled briefly and the entire Kings team flooded into the tunnel until security personnel broke things up. Neither player was hurt.

In the tunnel, Kings center Vlade Divac and injured Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal -- who was wearing streetclothes -- were seen exchanging exchanged shoves.

The episode detracted from what ordinarily is a go-through-the-motions finale to the preseason.

"I thought it was going to be fun,'' Divac told ESPN. "The last game of the preseason, you try to work on your game and get ready for the regular season.''

Players on both teams have regularly exchanged insults since the Lakers, on the way to their third consecutive NBA championship, eliminated Sacramento from the playoffs four games to three with the final game decided in overtime.

The Kings have complained they were cheated by poor officiating in at least one game and what Divac dismissed as a "lucky'' 3-point shot by Robert Horry that won Game 4.

As the insults heated up in recent days, O'Neal, recovering from toe surgery, dismissed the rivals as "the Sacramento Queens.''