Tyler Herro Drops Brutal 5-Word Message on Amen Thompson After Crazy NBA Brawl

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Amen Thompson (l) and Tyler Herro (r).

Intense, violent on-court brawls were once a regular occurence in the NBA. In one of the most famous brawls, back in 1984, Boston Celtics great Larry Bird got into all-out fisticuffs with the already legendary “Dr. J” Julius Erving. That one ended uo with Bird grabbing Erving around the neck, before Erving’s Philadelphia 76ers teammates Moses Malone and Charles Barkley grabbed Bird and held him as Dr. J hauled off with a final punch.

The 1986 NBA Finals, also involving the Celtics, were marred — or perhaps some would say enhanced — by an impromptu boxing match between Houston Rockets 7’4″ center Ralph Sampson and Boston’s 6’1″ bench player Jerry Sichting. And back in 1977, Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers sucker-punched the Rockets’ Rudy Tomjanovich, shattering his nose and resulting in near-fatal injuries in what then-Rockets coach Tom Nissalke called “the most malicious thing I’ve ever seen in basketball.”

Heat, Rockets Throwback to Era of NBA Brawls

The 1970s and 1980s were the prime era for NBA fighting, either a dark ages or a golden age, depending on one’s point of view. But what is generally considered the worst brawl in basketball or possibly any sport happened in 2004. The melee became known as “Malice at the Palace,” and it involved not only players but fans as well.

The Indiana Pacers’ Ron Artest ran into the stands after a fan threw a drinking cup at him following an an-court tussle with Detroit Pistons’ center Ben Wallace. Chaos ensued with multiple players and dozens of fans charging the court and throwing punches at Detroit’s Palace of Auburn Hills arena.

Those days may be gone. If anything, today’s NBA players are often accused of being too friendly with each other, on and off the court. But on Sunday night at Houston’s Toyota Center, the Rockets’ Amen Thompson and Miami Heat sharpshooting guard Tyler Herro did their best to bring back the bad old days of NBA mayhem.

The Heat won the game 104-100 but with less than a minute remaining, Thompson and Herro got tangled up on an inbounds play and started having words. At some point, Thompson chose to escalate the matter, grabbing Herro by the jersey and judo-throwing the Miami guard to the floor. Miami’s other guard, Terry Rozier then leaped at Thompson and brought him down. Herro attempted to retaliate as well, before the fight was finally broken up and tempers cooled, somewhat.

Herro Gets in Message to Thompson As Game Ends

But they hadn’t cooled down enough to stop Herro from delivering a cutting, five-word message to Thompson, caught on camera by crews broadcasting the game.

Moments after the brawl, Herro looked across the court at Thompson and shouted, “Go home Bro! You lost!”

In a locker room media interview after the game, Herro continued with his barbs at Thompson, telling a reporter who asked about the fight, “Guess that’s what’s happens when someone’s scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing. I’d get mad too.”

Herro scored a team-high 27 points with nine assists and six rebounds to lead Miami’s win. Thompson, for his part, scored five points in 32 minutes off the bench, with five rebounds and five assists.