“Put His Fine on My Tab Rockets”: Vernon Maxwell Praises Amen Thompson for Standing Up for His Teammates

The fight between Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro and Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson has been the talk of the town since the game yesterday night. The two stars butted heads in the final minute of the game at Toyota Center. After the fight, Rockets legend Vernon Maxwell heaped praise on Thompson for standing up for himself and his teammates.

The two-time NBA Champion took to X to share his thoughts on what took place on the floor. Maxwell stated that he loves Thompson for what he did and that he would love to pay any fine that’ll be issued against him and other Rockets players.

Maxwell wrote, “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 was a fiery personality back in the day. Allen Iverson called him “my protector” during his Hall of Fame speech. So, this appreciation for Thompson, coming from him, makes a lot of sense.

In the last minute of the game, Herro and Thompson got into a scuffle when the Heat were trying to inbound the ball. After a few seconds of grappling, Thompson ended up slamming Herro on the floor. This was followed by other players and coaching staff of both teams rushing to the spot to de-escalate the tension.

The fight also prompted a reaction from former NBA star Kendrick Perkins. He took to X with a more neutral stance and praised both players for different reasons. Perkins stated that he commends Thompson for standing up for himself and winning the physical battle. He added that Herro won the situation as he walked away with a win.

Perkins wrote, “Amen Thompson stood up and yeah he threw the shit outta Herro and people can get their jokes off… but Hero definitely won in this situation because he gave the Rockets that work with 27-9-6 with the W and it ain’t costing him $$$$.” When Herro was asked for his comment on the altercation, he initially tried to brush it off by saying it’s all a part of the game.

He said, “Just comes from two competitors going at it. Playing basketball.” However, he then took shots at Thompson by stating that the Rockets star was rattled because he was having a good game. Herro added, “Just a physical game. [I] guess that’s what happens when someone’s scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing. I’d get mad, too.”

Thompson, Herro, Jalen Green, Terry Rozier, and two coaches, Ime Udoka and Ben Sullivan, were ejected from the game for their involvement in the fight.