One of the standout scenes in HBO's "Winning Time," which aired its first episode on Sunday, featured a tense one-off between Lakers veteran guard Norm Nixon (played by their real-life son Devon Nixon) and superstar apparent magic. Par-one is a pickup game. Johnson (Quincy Isaiah).
This is the one time in the famous series about the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers where the onscreen friction wasn't acting up.
Nixon, 38, explains that he created tension on set to help with the scene, even pulling off an improvised showboat trick that Isaiah didn't expect during filming.
"I wanted to create that fury and anger," says Nixon, "that fight" between a veteran player and a rookie who's gunning for his job. "And that's how it read on the screen."
Nixon says Isaiah, 25, was like his "younger brother" on set. But the day he shoots the playoff between Norm Nixon and Magic Johnson, an impromptu game set at a lavish white-dress party, the two participate, with actor Nixon ousting Isaiah.
Nixon says, "I didn't talk to (Isaiah) that day at all. "He was like, 'Hey, what's wrong with you. Are you good?' But that was just me getting into the act of Daniel Day-Lewis in my own way."
The two battle in dress clothes on the court in front of party guests in the fictional moment meant to portray the initial tension between the two real players.
At one point, Isaiah's spell falls as planned after Nixon casts him out. Actor Nixon says he took the opportunity to ad-lib a forceful smack power move - stepping on the fallen Isaiah, pushing him back to the ground.
"It wasn't planned," Nixon says. "You can see that when (Isaiah) got up, he wanted to kill me."
The furious moment makes for compelling viewing, but the real anger didn't last long.
"I called him almost immediately after and I was like, 'Yo, great job,'" says Nixon. "He was like, 'Man, I'm not talking to you.' But I told him it was all love. he understood. That scene is now one of the standout scenes in the pilot. I'm glad I pushed him, and I made him (irritable)."
The scene was particularly difficult as Nixon began sporting her gorgeous '70s party outfit—including a big mink coat—before taking it off to still sport in formal attire.
"I was like, 'You really want me to do this in dress shoes and slacks?' It was a challenge," Nixon says. "But we got over it. It was a long night."
The real Nixon, a two-time NBA All-Star, hasn't weighed in on his son's performance or scene.
"I haven't talked to my father about it, but he told me he never wore a fur coat," Nixon says. "And then you Google it and it's like, 'What are these leather pants and all these things you never said?' Because the internet doesn't go away."
As for the tension between the two real Lakers players, Nixon says there was "extra drama" in the episode "Winning Time".
"My dad and magic were cool," Nixon says. "Naturally there was a contest because this rookie is trying to threaten his position. That scene is referring to him when I play against Magic."