The holidays are meant to be a time of celebration and camaraderie. The NBA apparently didn’t get the memo.
Multiple players, and a pair of coaches, were ejected following an altercation between the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets on Sunday.
What appeared to be a routine inbounds situation in the final seconds of a 104-100 win for the Heat quickly spiraled into a Royal Rumble that would’ve put even the WWE to shame. It began when Miami’s Tyler Herro and Houston’s Amen Thompson got tangled up and tussled all the way to the ground.
Both benches cleared immediately after that, including coaches from each side. Some of Houston’s frustration, like Thompson yanking Herro to the deck, likely stemmed from blowing a 12-point second-half lead. Doing so just one game after having blow a 16-point advantage to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Once the chaos had subsided and the incident was reviewed, officals tossed both Herro and Thompson along with Terry Rozier and Jalen Green for their involvement. The ejections didn’t stop there, however, as Rockets head coach Ime Udoka and assist Ben Sullivan were sent to the locker room early as well.
Fighting appears to be the theme of the week in the NBA as just two days prior a scuffle between the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks led to a trio of ejections. Mavericks’ Naji Marshall and P.J.m Washington were suspended four and one games respectively while Suns’ Nurkic was handed a three-game ban following the incident.
The Heat and Rockets both return to action on Wednesday, Miami hosting the New Orleans Pelicans while the Rockets welcome the Dallas Mavericks to town. The NBA has not announced any further punishment at this time.