NBA Admits Mistake on Tari Eason Ejection in Rockets’ Win Over Mavericks

HOUSTON-- Rockets forward Kevin Durant thought Tari Eason’s first quarter ejection ignited a first half run that led to Wednesday’s 128-110 opening night win over the Dallas Mavericks. 

“Tari got ejected- which is hilarious,” Durant said after scoring 30 points in the Rockets 128-110 win. “I think it was a close game at that point, so I think we rallied around that.” 

The Rockets were up 22-18 with 2:47 left in the first quarter when Eason shoved P.J. Washington. It was called a common foul on the floor before being upgraded to a flagrant-2 upon review. Houston increased its lead to six at the end of the quarter before outscoring the Mavs 38-12 in the second. 

“I was surprised it was a (flagrant) two, honestly,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said. 

The NBA acknowledged Thursday officials erred in their adjudication of the play and Eason should’ve just been levied a flagrant-1, which would’ve kept him in the game.

Eason was not made available to reporters after the game to give his account of what happened, but Udoka said Eason and Washington got in a shoving match.

“P.J. Washington gave him a few (shoves), and he got one back,” Udoka said.

Washington missed both free throws after the flagrant foul and finished with 10 points in 30 minutes. He scored just two points after the incident with Eason. 

The ejection was an unfortunate start to the season for Eason, who joined Marcus Smart as the first players off the Rockets bench on Wednesday. The fifth year forward scored two points in three minutes in his first game since signing a five-year, $81.5 million contract as a restricted free agent over the summer.

The league’s decision to downgrade the flagrant foul leaves Eason with one flagrant foul point. Five flagrant foul points trigger an automatic one-game suspension.

Durant also left Wednesday’s game with one flagrant foul point after the officials ruled his close out on a Cooper Flagg fourth quarter three-point attempt was “reckless.”

Wednesday night’s win over Dallas was the Rockets first on opening night since the 2017-18 season when they finished a franchise-best 65-17 and took the Warriors to game seven of the Western Conference finals. 

Eason and the Rockets will look to build on Wednesday’s impressive win when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. It will be the first game of a back-to-back for Houston, which will then travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks.