The Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson was ejected from the game during the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks.
While the Rockets won the game nonetheless, Thompson was deemed to have committed a Flagrant 2 foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo, thereby being ejected from the game. Let’s take a detailed look at the foul in discussion.
Explaining Amen Thompson’s Ejection
The Bucks had a two-point lead in the first half but were trailing by the same number with 4:27 remaining in the fourth quarter when Thompson committed the foul.
The Rockets star was going for a rebound but placed his hands around Antetokounmpo’s face, seemingly pulling him down as well. The Bucks forward fell backward on the floor but got up unhurt, and when the play was reviewed, it was determined to be a flagrant 2, leading to Thompson’s ejection.
Amen Thompson was ejected for a flagrant two foul on Giannis. pic.twitter.com/JMRbq2NGe2
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 26, 2025
However, Antetokounmpo held no hard feelings for Thompson after the game and instead appreciated his desire to go hard.
“At the end of the day like you don’t wanna have a league that’s soft,” Antetokounmpo told ESPN when asked about the play. “I love guys that play hard. I love guys that they’re great competitors.”
“I’m one of those guys. Sometimes your competitive nature gets in the way (of) making the best decision, the best judgment at the time. And I feel like he wanted to make it a hard foul, but he grabbed my neck. But there’s no hard feelings.”
Antetokounmpo finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, but it wasn’t enough for Milwaukee to win the game, losing ultimately by three points. The Rockets were led by Alperen Şengün and Jalen Green, who scored 23 and 25 points, respectively, while Thompson ended his night early with nine points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
The 22-year-old didn’t speak to the media following the game, but the head coaches of both teams agreed that it was a flagrant 2 foul. Meanwhile, Crew chief Tony Brothers said Thompson’s with Antetokounmpo contact was “unnecessary and excessive.”
“Because the contact to the head was both unnecessary and excessive, and by rule, that’s a flagrant foul penalty two,” he told a pool reporter.
It marked Thompson’s second ejection of the season after he threw Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro to the floor during a game in December.
However, the situation turned chaotic at that time, as the incident triggered an altercation between the two teams, with six more players and staff members being ejected. Thompson also served a two-game suspension for his actions during that altercation.
