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Thompson-Herro fight leads to ejections in Heat's victory over Rockets

Thompson-Herro fight leads to ejections in Heat's victory over Rockets
The Heat beat the Rockets, 104-100. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Rockets forward Amen Thompson threw Heat guard Tyler Herro to the floor to trigger an altercation that resulted in six ejections in the closing minute of Miami's 104-100 victory over Houston on Sunday.

Thompson and Herro became entangled with Miami about to inbound the ball leading 99-94 with 35 seconds left. Thompson grabbed Herro by the jersey and tossed him, with referee Marc Davis describing it as Thompson “body slams Herro.”

“I didn’t see it live, but I re-watched it,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “They were in each other’s face, bumping chests a little bit, and one guy’s stronger than the other.”

Herro, Thompson, and Udoka were ejected, as were Heat guard Terry Rozier, Rockets guard Jalen Green, and Rockets assistant coach Ben Sullivan.

Davis said Green and Rozier escalated the altercation, while Sullivan was assessed a technical foul and ejected for unsportsmanlike comments as the referee was trying to redirect the Rockets' Alperen Sengun.

The altercation occurred after Miami had come from 12 points down in the second half to regain the lead with the help of Houston missing 11 straight shots in the fourth quarter. Herro keyed the comeback, leading all scorers with 27 points and adding nine assists and six rebounds.

He believed that's what frustrated Thompson.

“Guess that’s what’s happens when someone’s scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing,” Herro said. “I’d get mad, too.”

Herro said he had never spoken to Thompson, who did not talk to reporters after Sunday’s game, so there was no previous bad blood between the two.

“Just two competitors going at it, playing basketball,” Herro said. “It was a regular game that we were playing throughout.”

Houston's Fred VanVleet had been ejected just before the fight, with Davis saying VanVleet made contact with him after being called for a 5-second violation.

The win for Miami came 24 hours after losing 120-110 in Atlanta. The Heat were missing second-leading scorer Jimmy Butler for a fifth straight game, so Herro was proud of his team played against one of NBA’s best teams this season.

“They’re top two, three in the West,” Herro said. “Very good defense. Got a bunch of young, athletic guys that can really play, so that’s a good win for us. That’s a stepping stone. We go 2-1 on the road. Put ourselves in a position to win yesterday, and I like how it’s going. We just got to continue to keep getting better.”

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Rockets beat the Pelicans, 109-97. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Amen Thompson had 21 points and 11 rebounds and the Houston Rockets had a dominating second half to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 109-97 on Thursday night to open a home-and-home set.

Alperen Sengun added 22 points, eight assists and three steals, and Tari Eason scored 21 points as the Rockets snapped a three-game losing streak. They had lost their last eight road games.

Trey Murphy III scored 26 points to lead the Pelicans. Zion Williamson had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Thompson had 12 points in the second half, including a dunk to cap the Rockets' opening spurt right out of the break that put them ahead for the first time — and for the rest of the game. They later had a 12-0 run in the third quarter.

When Houston trailed by double figures in the first quarter, Thompson had a highlight two-handed slam. He went around rookie Yves Missi and made a double-clutch move to get the dunk.

Takeaways

Rockets: Houston, currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference, is 11-3 against division foes this season.

Pelicans: Williamson was only 5-of-15 shooting from the field, but did hit 10 of 12 free throws.

Key moment

The Rockets never led until a 9-1 run in the first two minutes of the second half, a quick spurt that Thompson capped with a dunk. They led the rest of the way, going ahead by as many as 17 points.

Key stat

Thompson had eight dunks.

Up next

The Rockets and Pelicans play again Saturday night, this time in Houston.

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