Amen Thompson went out sad during Friday’s season-ending loss.
Thompson and the Houston Rockets fell at home on Friday night in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. They lost in front of their home crowd at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas by a final score of 98-78, giving the Lakers the 4-2 series win and eliminating the Rockets from title contention.
The Lakers were in control for the vast majority of the game, resulting in some apparent frustration from the Rockets guard Thompson. Late the fourth quarter with Houston down by 21 points and facing certain defeat, Thompson pulled a dirty move on Lakers counterpart Austin Reaves.
As Rockets forward Tari Eason put up a shot, Thompson (while jostling for position with Reaves) yanked on Reaves’ arm and threw him to the floor. That led to Reaves limping off the court and having to sub out of the game.
Reaves did not return from there, though likely in part due to the lopsided score. Here is the video of Thompson’s questionable play on Reaves.
UNBELIEVABLY DIRTY PLAY BY AMEN THOMPSON ON AUSTIN REAVES????
— LakersMuse (@LALMuse) May 2, 2026
HURT HIM FOR NO REASON pic.twitter.com/pRWwO4Hyoy
Thompson, who received widespread condemnation online over the incident, finished Friday’s game with 18 points and eight rebounds in a whopping game-high 45 minutes of play. While the 23-year-old Thompson is a budding two-way star who made an All-Defensive First Team last season, he clearly still has to work on controlling his emotions. You may recall that Thompson also injured another opponent on an in-game throwdown last season.
