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Amen Thompson, Terry Rozier suspended as NBA hands down punishments for Heat-Rockets brawl

A heated exchange between Thompson and Heat guard Tyler Herro on Sunday sparked a fight that led to six people getting ejected

Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson, right, and Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) tug on each other before Thompson throws Herro to the court sparking a bench clearing brawl resulting in multiple ejections for both teams during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
An exchange between Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (R) and Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (L) led to a brawl between the two teams on Sunday. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

The NBA is handing down punishments against four players and one coach after the fight that erupted on Sunday between the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat. The on-court brawl ended with six people getting ejected in the final seconds of the Heat's 104-100 win.

The league announced the punishments through a news release Tuesday.

Rockets forward Amen Thompson, whose actions sparked the fight, has been suspended for two games without pay, while Heat guard Terry Rozier has been suspended for one game. Rockets guard Jalen Green has been fined $35,000, and Heat guard Tyler Herro, who was involved in the initial exchange with Thompson, was fined $25,000.

The NBA also fined Rockets head coach Ime Udoka $50,000, with the league citing "verbal abuse of a game official" and saying that Udoka did not leave in a timely manner after being ejected. Rockets assistant coach Ben Sullivan, who was also ejected from the game, did not get fined.

Additionally, Rockets guard Fred VanVleet was fined $35,000 for an unrelated incident earlier in the game. VanVleet was ejected 10 seconds before the fight after making "reckless contact" with a referee.

The fight began with an altercation between Thompson and Herro, with 35.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter. As the two players bumped into each other, Thompson suddenly got into Herro's face and grabbed at his jersey, throwing him down to the floor. The incident sparked a full-on brawl, with both teams swarming the two players. It took assistant coaches, staff members and even arena security to diffuse the situation.

It is unclear what exactly led to Thompson's actions, but the result was a chaotic, bench-clearing brawl that only escalated. The four players — Thompson, Green, Rozier and Herro — and two Rockets coaches were given technical fouls and ejected from the game. When play eventually resumed, the Heat held on for the final 30 seconds to get the four-point win.

With the punishment, Thompson will miss the Rockets' matchups against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday and Boston Celtics on Friday. Rozier will miss the Heat's game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

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