On Sunday, the Miami Heat had a 104-100 win against the Houston Rockets. However, the game had an unfortunate ending as players and coaches were ejected due to an altercation. The fight stemmed from the Heat’s Tyler Herro and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The feud started after Herro bumped into Thompson, who proceeded to grab Miami’s star by his jersey. Their teammates rushed to the star’s help when the sophomore winger threw them to the ground. However, the situation worsened when Terry Rozier III dove at the Rockets player.
In the end, players from both sides were ejected. Miami’s Herro and Rozier were tossed from the game. Houston’s Thompson, Jalen Green, head coach Ime Udoka and assistant Ben Sullivan were ejected.
The NBA penalized Thompson, Herro, and Rozier after the incident. The Rockets player was given a two-game suspension, while the former Charlotte Hornets guard will miss one game due to suspension. Miami’s star guard didn’t get a suspension but was fined $25k.
Former Rockets player Vernon Maxwell expressed his opinion on X (previously Twitter) that it was unjust for the NBA to penalize Thompson while Herro was left unpunished. The two-time champion for Houston even called the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year the instigator and made fun of his rapping skills.
“2 game suspension for Amen. 25k fine and no suspension for the instigator MGK. The league has never liked Houston and they must have a thing for skinny white kids that can’t rap,” Maxwell posted on social media.
2 game suspension for Amen. 25k fine and no suspension for the instigator MGK. The league has never liked Houston and they must have a thing for skinny white kids that can’t rap.
— Vernon Maxwell (@VernonMaxwell11) December 31, 2024
On Wednesday, the Rockets are set to play against the Dallas Mavericks. On Friday, they’ll challenge the Boston Celtics. In both games, they won’t have Thompson on their lineup.
Miami Heat’s star shared his side of the scuffle
Miami Heat’s guard didn’t look worried during the heated situation. Even after he was ejected, Herro didn’t appear fazed as he went to the locker room. Miami’s guard kept his composure and told his side of the story after the league handed punishments to the players.
“There wasn’t much talking, not talking at all really,” Herro said. “They lost control of their feelings when the game started to turn a little bit in our direction and obviously the ejection of VanVleet. You heard some words from their sideline toward the refs. They were definitely frustrated but noting toward me or anyone else on our team.”
Herro is having an All-Star season for the Miami Heat, averaging 24.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
