Nets' Noah Clowney And Pelicans' Julian Reese Get Into On-court Altercation, 4 Technical Fouls Issued

The Brooklyn Nets were leading the New Orleans Pelicans by 38 with less than five minutes left on Wednesday. That didn't stop tensions from boiling over.

Nets big man Noah Clowney and Pelicans forward Julian Reese got into an altercation that began with Clowney falling to the floor while jostling for a free-throw rebound and ended with a full scrum formed around the baseline. Replay showed Reese giving Clowney a shove and Clowney grabbing Reese's arm as he went down.

The two got face-to-face once Clowney got up, with teammates and officials intervening to break up the confrontation.

The play was ruled a loose-ball foul by Reese with offsetting technical fouls for Reese, Clowney, Pelicans guard Jaron Pierre Jr. and Nets wing Terance Mann. The Nets won 145-111.

The incident is the latest in a series of altercations for Clowney, whom the Nets selected 21st overall out of Alabama in the 2023 NBA Draft but have declined to extend up to now. There was his run-in with Dallas Mavericks rookie Morez Johnson last weekend.

There was his exchange with Boston Celtics center Mitchell Robinson last month.

And in February, he had quite the sequence with Rui Hachimura, then of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Clowney entered Wednesday averaging 19.7 minutes in 10 games, his lowest average since his rookie season. He was also posting a career-low 5.0 points per game.

Reese, the younger brother of Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese, is in his second NBA season and playing for New Orleans on a two-way contract,