NBA rookie Jeremiah Fears calls Thunder's Luguentz Dort 'soft' after on-court scuffle

Tempers flared during a caller brace of NBA games, and some contests were marred by tense clashes betwixt players.

Tuesday’s Suns–Nets crippled featured 5 method fouls erstwhile New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears and seasoned Thunder subordinate Lu Dort were separated successful the 2nd half. A shove by Dort appeared to spark a scuffle that cleared the benches astatine the extremity of the Thunder’s 104-95 win.

Officials did not telephone a foul aft Dort made interaction with Fears during a layup attempt. Players and coaches from some teams rapidly joined the fracas to effort and abstracted Dort and Fears.

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New Orleans Pelicans defender Jeremiah Fears (0) drives past Oklahoma City Thunder defender Luguentz Dort (5) during the 2nd 4th astatine Paycom Center Jan. 27, 2026, successful Oklahoma City, Okla. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)

After the game, Fears took to societal media, wherever helium labeled Dort "soft."

Thunder manager Mark Daigneault placed blasted connected the officials, arguing they failed to support power of the concern earlier it escalated.

"Good guys, bully crew, but I thought they mislaid power of the crippled successful the last minutes," Daigneault told reporters astatine his postgame quality conference. "I thought that altercation astatine the extremity started good earlier that with the [Saddiq Bey and Jaylin Williams] situation. I thought they could person managed that cleaner."

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Daigneault besides expressed his content that Dort should person been called for a foul during the play, arguing the people should not impact whether referees stroke the whistle.

"The 2nd happening is, I deliberation that's a foul connected Dort. And if it was, they should enactment a whistle connected that play careless of the people and the time, due to the fact that if they bash that, everybody stops playing, and you tin legislate the concern arsenic you usually would. But due to the fact that they didn't enactment a whistle connected it, it's the extremity of the game. They tin bash thing astir it, and you extremity up with that situation."

Oklahoma City Thunder defender Luguentz Dort (5) walks distant from a scuffle with New Orleans Pelicans defender Jeremiah Fears (0) during the 2nd fractional astatine Paycom Center Jan. 27, 2026, successful Oklahoma City, Okla. (Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)

Roughly an hr aft the Thunder–Pelicans crippled concluded, a abstracted incidental broke retired successful the Suns–Nets game.

With little than 2 minutes near successful the adjacent game, Nets defender Egor Dëmin pushed Suns guardant Dillon Brooks to the floor. A chaotic country ensued, with players and coaches leaving the benches and referees assessing a full of 5 method fouls. Earlier successful the game, Brooks was called for a method foul aft helium shoved Dëmin.

Brooks' method foul for the earlier incidental was his 15th of the season. He is 1 distant from triggering an automatic one-game suspension.

Egor Dëmin (8) of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during a scuffle betwixt the Nets and the Phoenix Suns during the 2nd fractional astatine Mortgage Matchup Center Jan. 27, 2026, successful Phoenix, Ariz.  (Jeremy Chen/Getty Images)

After the game, Nets manager Jordi Fernández voiced enactment for the players who intervened connected behalf of their teammate, Dëmin.

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"Those are conscionable guys protecting each different and warring for each other," Fernández said. "I deliberation they did a large job. You're ne'er going to fto immoderate of your teammates get deed oregon pushed oregon anything. 

"Obviously, there's boundaries, and we don't privation anybody to get wounded here. But you've seen a fewer soiled plays, and they didn't telephone it. I deliberation it got retired of manus due to the fact that of that. I similar my guys sticking up for each other."

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