There are two ways a team can lose to end the season: graciously and how the Rockets went out.
With the result sealed for pretty much the whole fourth quarter, Houston had plenty of time to make a few questionable decisions. And to be fair, it was less the Rockets as a whole and more Amen Thompson.
First, after a hard, but common, foul from Rui Hachimura on Alperen Şengün, Thompson came over and inserted himself into the situation.
Then, far more controversially and dangerously, as the Lakers were cycling their starters off the floor, Amen had an objectively dirty play by yanking Austin Reaves’ arm and pulling him to the ground away from the play.
The officials did not see it on the floor, so no call was made. On Saturday afternoon, the league announced that Thompson had given a Flagrant 1 foul for the play.
That is the extent of the punishment Thompson will receive on the play, which feels…generous. Considering how dirty the play was, it’s kind of wild he’s just going to get a fairly modest fine, especially considering the contract he may be signing this summer.
As for Reaves, it doesn’t seem like he’s injured, though it’s not entirely clear. Dan Woike of The Athletic asked about his shoulder postgame and there was no injury.
The lack of clarity part comes from the fact that Reaves was limping after the play, not holding his shoulder. He went to the bench and was using a massage gun on his inner thigh. That being said, he was joking and celebrating with teammates on the bench during the final minutes of the game and didn’t appear to be limping after the game.
It’s a shame this is the conversation that has to be had after the game. But this also isn’t a surprise as this has been the player Thompson has been.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
