NBA preseason is a time for teams to re-integrate new pieces, for players to jell with one another, and for everyone to get up to game speed. This is not the time to let emotions run high, considering how, in the grand scheme of the 2025-26 season, these games carry so little meaning. But don't tell that to Amen Thompson and Jose Alvarado, as they nearly engaged in an all-out brawl in the second quarter of the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans' preseason clash on Tuesday.
With 5:39 remaining in the second period, Jabari Smith Jr. hoisted a three-pointer and clanked it off the front rim. When the ball went up in the air, Thompson and Alvarado got entangled with one another while jockeying for rebounding position.
The Pelicans guard was doing his best to box the Rockets guard out, and Thompson ended up throwing Alvarado to the ground as the latter continued to hold on to the former. Alvarado managed to drag Thompson onto the ground, and the Pelicans guard lunged at him, triggering a brawl.
FIGHT IN THE PRESEASON! Amen Thompson & Jose Alvarado got tangled up, then wrestled each other to the floor, & Amen took some swipes at Alvarado’s face in the process! 😳🥊
Thompson received a flagrant foul 1 & Alvarado got a technical foul.
Thoughts? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/gK4FzZ0YUK
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) October 15, 2025
If one would think about it, this is something that's bound to happen someday between Thompson and Alvarado. The former is fearless and takes no crap from anyone. The Rockets' burgeoning star threw Tyler Herro to the ground last year and ended up being suspended for his actions. Meanwhile, the Pelicans' backup point guard has long embraced his NBA role as a major pest.
With that clash in personalities, and with the Rockets and Pelicans being division rivals, which means that they'll be facing each other a minimum of four times per season, something like this was inevitable. The good news, if there's any, is that no one was seriously hurt.
Thompson, for his part of the scuffle, received a flagrant foul penalty one. Meanwhile, Alvarado was only whistled for a technical.
Expect Rockets-Pelicans games to get feisty
Thompson is someone who never forgets when someone has wronged him. He will certainly be circling the Rockets' first regular-season game against the Pelicans, which will be on the 18th of December later this year.
The Rockets youngster was locked in when he faced Herro and the Miami Heat yet again following their fight. Expect him to see red against the Pelicans.
On the other hand, Alvarado is going to keep being unabashedly himself. He'll sneak up baselines and try to annoy the living hell out of his opponents. And he'll find success in doing so too.
