Things are heating up in the NBA. While the North American basketball championship is multiplying its prestigious meetings at the end of the year, the latter were the scene of two fights in just a few days. On the night from Friday to Saturday, the duel between the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks was marked by a fight between two opponents who came to blows before being expelled.
This time, during the night from Sunday to Monday in France, it was the Houston Rockets floor which was transformed into a boxing or wrestling ring. There were only a handful of seconds left to play – 35.7 seconds to be exact – when tempers got seriously heated.
The Heat led 99-94 when Rockets backup Amen Thompson slammed Tyler Herro across the court. A gesture which quickly caused the start of a general fight. Both players were ejected, as were Terry Rozier (Miami) and Jalen Green (Houston), as well as Rockets coach Ime Udoka and assistant Ben Sullivan.
Fred VanVleet, the leader of Houston, was sent off 47 seconds from the end of the match… but for an incident unrelated to this general brawl.
In a match that saw 13 lead changes, the Rockets had a seven-point lead 8 minutes from the buzzer before seeing the Heat take control thanks, in particular, to Tyler Herro… hero of the match. Two minutes from time he allowed his team to take a 95-94 advantage and win in the chaos at the end of the match (104-100).
Before being ejected, Miami guard Tyler Herro had scored 27 points, offered nine assists and grabbed six rebounds. « I guess that’s what happens when someone scores, makes assists and takes care of everything, explaining or shaming the person after the fact. I too would go crazy in this position. They are in the Top 2 or Top 3 in the West, it’s a very good defense, so it’s a great victory for us. We can build on that. »