With 47 seconds remaining in Sunday’s 104-100 victory for the Miami Heat over the Houston Rockets, Houston point guard Fred VanVleet was ejected for making contact with an official. That came right after VanVleet was whistled for a 5-second violation, resulting in a turnover, and while arguing with the ref, VanVleet appeared to inadvertently bump him, resulting in getting tossed.
Little did VanVleet know that his getting the boot would lead to a wave of ejections in the final minute of the game, with those becoming the headline of a closely contested matchup that saw 21 combined ties and lead changes.
So how many total ejections were there in the game? To quote LeBron James shortly after taking his talents to South Beach and joining the Heat in 2010, “Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four. Not five. Not six …”
There ended up being seven ejections, all coming within the last 47 seconds. VanVleet was simply the appetizer for the main course that occurred with 35 seconds remaining, and Miami was up by five points and inbounding the ball.
Personnel ranging from players on the court, to coaches, to security personnel rushed to the separate Thompson and Herro. Miami’s Terry Rozier, who was the one originally set to inbound the ball, then appeared to get on top of Thompson, who was on the ground, and then Houston’s Jalen Green got a hold of Rozier.
Counting everyone on the court, which also included police officers, there appeared to be around 25 people involved in trying to separate players from both teams. During the scuffle, Miami coach Caron Butler was knocked backwards, falling to the ground, and it also appeared that someone from the stands threw a towel across the court at the scrum.
Amazingly, none of those 25 individuals were players off the bench as that would have resulted in an automatic suspension. Of those involved in the melee, Thompson and Herro were both ejected for starting the situation, while Rozier and Green were also tossed for escalating the situation.
So with VanVleet earlier, Thompson, Herro, Green, and Rozier, we’re up to five ejections. There were two more, and neither was a player. Houston’s head coach, Ime Udoka, as well as his assistant, Ben Sullivan, were both tossed for what the referees said were unsportsmanlike comments made while officials were attempting to diffuse the situation.
After the game, Udoka was asked what his opinion was on how the scuffle started, in which he propped up his player in Thompson.
“They were in each other’s faces,” Udoka said of Thompson and Herro, “bumping chests a little bit, and one guy’s stronger than the other.”
He was then asked about his own ejection and what comments he made to get tossed.
“If what I said gets me kicked out, then I’d be kicked out of every game,” stated Udoka. “So, it was very minimal. [The official] was talking to a staff member, I was talking to him—I guess he was trying to protect his crew.”
However, with a wry smile, he then took a subtle shot at Thompson and the Rockets while also noting that Miami won the game.
“I guess that’s what happens when someone’s scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing,” Herro said. “So I’d get mad, too.”
Herro has reason to gloat after the game, as not only did his team win, but he was the star of the contest. He led all players with 27 points and nine assists, while also adding six rebounds. The Rockets have the third-best record in the Western Conference, so Miami getting a big road win is a takeaway from this game, albeit not the main one.
It was the third career ejection for Herro, as well as for VanVleet. Thompson was tossed for the second time, while both Rozier and Green were ejected for the first time in their respective careers.
So, those involved in the Heat vs. Rockets dustup can likely anticipate being suspended in the very near future.
