Head coach Byron Scott of the Los Angeles Lakers talks to Carlos Boozer #5 during their game against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on November 1, 2014 in Oakland, California. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The war of words continued between Lakers Byron Scott and veteran forward Carlos Boozer, who questioned why Scott benched him during the Lakers’ loss on Sunday to the New Orleans Pelicans.

“He’s not the coach,” Scott said. “It’s my opinion. So as a coach, sometimes you have to make tough decisions. It was a tough decision, but I made it. I’ll stick to it and then go from there.”

Scott started Ed Davis in Boozer’s place at power forward while starting Ronnie Price over Jeremy Lin at point guard in hopes that would jumpstart the Lakers’ league-worst defense. The Lakers (5-16) enter Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings (11-10) at Staples Center allowing 110.9 points per game. In that game, Boozer scored 12 points on 6-of-12 points in 23 minutes, a performance Scott described as “okay.” Despite disagreeing about his role, Boozer described himself as a “team player” and vowed he would make the best of his current circumstances.

Lin approached Scott about his demotion. That then led into a lengthy meeting that entailed Scott telling Lin to organize the offense better and make more consistent defensive rotations. Both Boozer and Scott have reported they have not had any discussions, and neither party sounds interested in breaking the ice.

“I didn’t need to necessarily talk to Jeremy,” Scott said. “He came to me. I don’t feel like I need to clear the air.”

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