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Tempers flared during a pair of recent NBA games, with both contests marred by tense confrontations between players.
Tuesday’s Suns-Nets game featured five technical fouls when New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears and Thunder veteran Lu Dort were separated in the second half. A push from Dort appeared to spark a bench-clearing brawl late in the Thunder’s 104-95 victory.
The referees did not call a foul after Dort made contact with Fears during a layup attempt. Players and coaches from both teams quickly joined the fight to try to separate Dort and Fears.
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New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears (0) drives past Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) during the second quarter at Paycom Center on January 27, 2026, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Alonzo Adams/Image Images)
After the game, Fears took to social media, where he labeled Dort “soft.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault blamed the referees, arguing they failed to maintain control of the situation before it worsened.
“Good guys, good team, but I thought they lost control of the game in the final minutes,” Daigneault told reporters at his postgame news conference. “I thought the altercation at the end started long before that with the [Saddiq Bey and Jaylin Williams] situation. I thought they might have gotten that cleaner.”
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Daigneault also expressed his belief that Dort should have been called for a foul during the play, arguing that the score should not affect whether the referees blow the whistle.
“The second thing is that I think it’s a foul against Dort. And if it was, they should blow that play regardless of the score and the time, because if they do, everyone stops playing, and you can legislate the situation like you normally would. But since they didn’t blow a whistle, it’s the end of the game. They can’t do anything about it, and you end up in that situation.”
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) walks away from a fight with New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears (0) during the second half at Paycom Center on January 27, 2026, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Alonzo Adams/Image Images)
About an hour after the Thunder-Pelicans game concluded, a separate incident broke out at the Suns-Nets game.
With less than two minutes left in the close game, Nets guard Egor Dëmin shoved Suns forward Dillon Brooks to the ground. A chaotic scene ensued, with players and coaches leaving the benches and referees awarding a total of five technical fouls. Early in the game, Brooks received a technical foul after shoving Dëmin.
Brooks’ technical foul for the previous incident was his 15th of the season. He is one away from causing an automatic one-game suspension.
Egor Dëmin (8) of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during a fight between the Nets and the Phoenix Suns during the second half at the Mortgage Matchup Center on January 27, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Jeremy Chen/Getty Images)
“Those are just guys protecting each other and fighting for each other,” Fernandez said. “I think they did a great job. You’re never going to let any of your teammates get hit or pushed or anything like that.
“Obviously, there are limits, and we don’t want anyone to get hurt here. But you’ve seen some dirty plays and they didn’t call them. I think it got out of hand because of that. I like my guys to defend each other.”
