While most people were focused on Luka Doncic's first game against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night there were six other games going on in the NBA, including a matchup between two playoff teams in the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets.
The Rockets won the game 100-97 behind a combined 48 points and 19 rebounds from Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green. Rookie Amen Thompson added nine points, nine rebounds and six assists before he was ejected in the fourth quarter following a really hard foul on Giannis Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis spun around Thompson and did a pump fake under the basket. Thompson went for the fake and as he came down decided to make sure Giannis couldn't get a shot off. In the process he grabbed Giannis around the head and neck and pulled him down.
The home call of the play by Space City Home Network announcers Craig Ackerman and Ryan Hollins was incredible. First Hollins called it a "playoff foul" before he saw the replay and laughed. While Ackerman admitted there might be "more to this than just a common foul" both guys were shocked when Thompson was given a flagrant two.
"WOW!" said Ackerman upon hearing the announcement with Hollins adding, "I didn't think he'd be out."
Only on a home team's broadcast could you be shocked by this call in 2025.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rockets Announcers Shocked Amen Thompson Was Ejected for Grabbing Giannis’s Face.
