Houston had a problem Sunday night.
In the closing seconds of Sunday's matchup between the Rockets and Miami Heat, a heated exchange transpired between Miami star Tyler Herro and rising Rockets forward Amen Thompson.
With 35.7 seconds left in the fourth, Thompson and Herro appeared to exchange words closely to one another when the former grabbed the latter and threw him onto the ground.
Chaos ensues at the end of Heat vs. Rockets 😳
— ESPN (@espn) December 30, 2024
Four players and two coaches were ejected after this scuffle. pic.twitter.com/suYWuxrX8B
Wow a fight breaks out. Amen Thompson goes after Tyler Herro. What a mess. pic.twitter.com/00hyLMLQHa
— Will Manso (@WillManso) December 30, 2024
A few more players and coaches got involved until the moment deescalated, resulting in several ejections. Along with Herro and Thompson, Houston guard Jalen Green and Miami guard Terry Rozier were also ejected.
Two coaches were also sent to the locker room.
NBA
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the situation to erupt between Thompson and Herro. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka reacted to the moment in his postgame presser.
"They were in each other's faces, bumping chests a little bit," Udoka said via Rockets sideline reporter Vanessa Richardson. "One guy is stronger than the other."
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In the Miami locker room, Herro also commented on the moment, via FanDuel Sports Network.
"Guess that's what's happens when someone's scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing," he said. "I'd get mad too."
Herro led Miami to a narrow 104-100 win with 27 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the absence of Jimmy Butler, who was out due to conditioning.
Thompson, the No. 4 overall pick by Houston in 2023, had five points, five rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes off the bench.
The two teams will meet again on Friday, March 21 in Miami.
