Rockets Legend Praises Amen Thompson After Heat Game

Amen Thompson has a fan in a Houston Rockets icon.
Dec 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) pursue a loose ball during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Dec 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) pursue a loose ball during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images
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Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson picked up a hater or two after his role in the brawl at the end of Sunday night's 104-100 loss against the Miami Heat, but he also gained a fan.

His fan, Vernon Maxwell, is well-known among the Rockets organization as the gritty guard that helped them win the 1994 NBA Finals 30 years ago.

"I love me some Amen Thompson. Put his fine on my tab Rockets. And I’ll take care of anyone else’s fine that stands up for their Rockets teammates," Maxwell tweeted during the game.

It remains to be seen how much Thompson will be fined. An ejection is an automatic fine, but the league will likely review the incident to see if Thompson will be punished further.

There is a chance Thompson could be suspended just based on the nature of what took place, but it looks like he may be off the hook for any fine if Maxwell is serious about paying whatever he owes.

Thompson and the Rockets will now go back to the drawing board after losing consecutive home games for the first time this season. Their next game comes against the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks at home. Tipoff for that game is set for New Year's Day at 7 p.m. CT.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager who has been with On SI since 2021. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20.