New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears lived up to his name after the final buzzer sounded in Tuesday’s game against the reigning NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Showing that he doesn’t back down against anyone, Fears got into a shoving match with Thunder guard Lu Dort as regulation time expired, leading to a gaggle of players, officials and other team members crowding the court as tempers flared.
Even Detroit Pistons “Bad Boy” alumnus Joe Dumars, who is now New Orleans’ president, had to help out in pacifying the situation.
You can watch the clip of the game’s wild ending here.
Lu Dort and Jeremiah Fears got into it on the final play of the game 😳 pic.twitter.com/pd57nEKb5f
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 28, 2026
Fears and Dort were eventually separated, with Fears being escorted off the court and into the tunnel, where he still had to be held back from going back out.
Still holding Fears after the game. pic.twitter.com/AzL7FLwaGS
— Jerry Ramsey (@TVsJerry) January 28, 2026
The former Oklahoma Sooners star Fears was not done even after the scrum. He took a shot at Dort by commenting “soft ah” with three laughing emojis on an Instagram post that shows a photo of his altercation with the Thunder guard.
Jeremiah Fears comment on Lu Dort:
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) January 28, 2026
“Soft ah” 😭 pic.twitter.com/rUyjU6fmap
Their beef will have to linger for a while, and it’s not going to be resolved on the court anytime soon, as the Pelicans and Thunder already played the last game of their series in the 2025-26 NBA regular season, with Oklahoma City completing a sweep of New Orleans with a 104-95 victory on Monday.
