Tari Eason gets ejected for a flagrant foul just 9 minutes into the season

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tari Eason gets ejected for a flagrant foul just 9 minutes into the season

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Oct 21, 2026 9:27 PM ET

Tari Eason pulled off the unusual feat of getting ejected from his team’s season opener (and pretty early at that).

The Houston Rockets tipped off the new season on Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks. But the Rockets forward Eason managed to get himself ejected less than one full quarter into the game.

In the first quarter at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Eason was matched up against Mavericks forward PJ Washington. After an offensive rebound was hauled in by Washington, he was attempting to get position down low.

But Eason lost his cool and gave Washington a two-handed shove to the ground in the process. Here is the video.

Tari Eason SHOVED PJ Washington to the floor https://t.co/Of9bdqupRp
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) October 22, 2026

As a result of the crash-out, Eason was given a flagrant 2 foul and automatically ejected from the game. Meanwhile, Washington managed to escape even a technical foul for the incident (but did proceed to miss both of his flagrant-foul free throws).

Eason, 25, ended up with just two points and one rebound in three minutes of action off the bench before getting thrown out. He is known as one of the Rockets’ best and most physical defenders but has also been plagued by maturity issues during his time in the NBA (both on the court as well as off it).

More must-reads: