LaMelo Ball is ejected from game in Lithuania after slapping an opponent in the face

LaMelo Ball sparked a benches-clearing brawl and was ejected from an international basketball game Monday in Lithuania.

Ball, 17, was playing as a member of a U.S. team made up of players from the Junior Basketball Assn., the league started by his father, LaVar Ball. As part of an international tour, the JBA USA team played an exhibition game against Alytaus Dzukija of the Lithuanian league LKL.

During the third quarter, Ball drove to the basket, missed a layup and appeared to give defender Mindaugas Susinskas a shove on his way out of bounds. Susinskas responded by giving Ball what looked to be a tap on the back of his head.

Ball didn’t like that. He slapped Susinskas in the face, then both players exchanged some shoves and a couple of blows, with multiple members of each team eventually becoming involved.

Ball finished the game with 15 points, Susinskas, who was also ejected because of the skirmish, finished with three points. Ball’s team led by 15 at the time of the incident but ended up losing 124-116.

Ball and his brother LiAngelo Ball, 19, played for the Vytautas Prienu team of the LKL earlier this year until their father pulled them from the team with two games remaining in the season. “We’re not going to waste our time no more,” LaVar Ball told reporters in April.

LaMelo Ball left Chino Hills High School during his junior year in October 2017 to be home-schooled and concentrate on basketball. “I’m going to make him the best basketball player ever,” LaVar Ball said at the time.

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii