Jeremiah “Fuming” Fears escorted to locker room after Pelicans’ heated 95-104 loss to Thunder

A hard-fought contest between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder ended in chaos on Tuesday night as rookie guard Jeremiah Fears had to be physically restrained and escorted from the floor after a scuffle with Thunder guard Lu Dort. The incident occurred at the final buzzer of the Thunder’s 104-95 victory at the Paycom Center, turning a standard regular-season matchup into a heated bench-clearing altercation.Jeremiah Fears was selected as the 7th overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2025 NBA draft, and this was his 48th game of the season. This might be his rookie season, but unlike his name, he has got "no fears" on the court when it comes to squaring off against the other NBA titans. In the final seconds of Pelican vs Thunder, Fears wanted to attempt the last layup but was closely guarded by Lu Dort. This physical contest led to an immediate verbal exchange and then escalated rapidly as both players grabbed each other's jerseys, prompting teammates, coaches, and security personnel to rush the court to separate the pair. The 19-year-old Fears, visibly fuming, had to be held back by multiple staff members as he continued to pursue Dort across the hardwood. Luckily, the entire scene happened after the final horn, therefore, the officials did not assess any technical fouls. But both are expected to face some disciplinary action after the league reviews the footage. Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic asked Oklahoma’s head coach about the altercation between OKC and New Orleans after the final buzzer, to which Mark Daigneault answered with, “Good guys. Good crew. But I thought they lost control of the game in the final minutes. I thought that altercation at the end started well before that with the Bey and J-Will situation. I thought they could’ve managed that cleaner.Daigneault added, “And then the second thing is I think that’s a foul on Dort. And if it was, they should put a whistle on that play regardless of the score and the time. If they do that, everybody stops playing, and you can legislate the situation as you normally would.”The reigning NBA champions extended their record to 38-10 and their first win after back-to-back losses against the Pacers and Raptors. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander anchored the victory with 29 points and stabilised the Thunder’s dominance atop the Western Conference.For the Pelicans, this was their 37th loss of the season, with only 12 wins. Fears contributed 7 points, but Zion Williamson led with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. While the night ended with animosity, the focus for both teams now shifts to the league's upcoming schedule, with New Orleans returning home to face Memphis and the Thunder looking to build on this momentum.