On-court madness ensued Sunday night between the Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets as Amen Thompson and Tyler Herro went nose-to-nose, sparking the league’s highest number of ejections in a single game this season.
With 35.7 seconds left in regulation, Thompson got tangled up with Herro as Miami prepared to inbound the ball for an offensive possession. The two appeared to have exchanged some words, prompting them to get heated which saw Thompson pulling Herro hard to the court.
The sequence led both teams to instantly act to stop the fiasco.
Massive ejections imposed
As a result of the chaos that took place, six were ejected out of the game upon the referees’ review. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, assistant coach Ben Sullivan, Jalen Green, and Thompson were all removed. Meanwhile, Terry Rozier joined Herro for those who were penalized at the side of the Heat.
A few moments later, Fred VanVleet followed Thompson and the others in the locker room before the game had ended after a spicy confrontation with a referee.
“They were in each other’s faces, bumping chests a little bit. One guy is stronger than the other,” Udoka remarked in the postgame, seemingly throwing some shade on behalf of Thompson against Herro.
Herro, who dropped 27 points and 9 dimes to lead the Heat’s 104-100 victory, simply offered a shrug for his embattled altercation with the Rockets swingman.
“Just a physical game. Guess that’s what happens when someone’s scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing. I’d get mad too,” he said in postgame.
By considering the severity of the sequence and the number of people punished, fines are likely on the way from the league office for Thompson, Herro, and the others.
The Heat and the Rockets are set to square off for one last time this regular season on March 21 in Miami. As such, we can only encircle the said date as this could offer another intriguing meet-up for Thompson and Herro.
With the win, the Heat improved to 16-14 as they’ll now head home before facing the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. The Rockets dropped to 21-11 and will continue their homestand against the visiting Dallas Mavericks on the same day.
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