The tension between the New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears and the OKC Thunder‘s Lu Dort has spread well beyond the game. What began as a heated on-court clash late in their matchup quickly grabbed attention across the league. Fears even continued the rift on social media, labeling Dort as “soft”. Now, after the NBA handed down a fine, the words that ignited the moment have finally surfaced.

Popular creator and lip reader LegendZ broke down the entire sequence. Fears and Dort came face to face after the former took exception to the Thunder star wrapping him up. Once they got too close, Lu Dort grabbed the rookie’s jersey and said, “Watch out, Don’t f—k with me,” according to LegendZ’s X breakdown.

Jeremiah Fears stood his ground, saying “F–k you”. He and Dort remained tangled up until security came in to intervene.

“Let me go,” the Pelicans guard told the guards holding him back. They promptly directed him towards the locker room, where the former University of Oklahoma star was reluctant to continue their brawl in the locker room.

Security couldn’t calm him down. That’s when franchise cornerstone and now league veteran Zion Williamson stepped in. He was the first NOLA teammate to follow the 19-year-old to the locker room. The Pelicans’ explosive forward took control of the matter, escorting Fears to the locker room himself.

“Fears. Walk with me,” he told his young teammate.

Williamson might have helped Jeremiah Fears cool down a bit, but the rookie has been in frequent trouble for heated on-court moments.

Before his exaggerated situation with Lu Dort, Fears had also had incidents with Luka Doncic and Mavericks guard Naji Marshall. Luckily, none of them have amounted to any ugly incidents, with Zion Williamson even separating Marshall from his teammates during their NBA Cup clash.

The NBA hands down fines on Lu Dort and Jeremiah Fears

This was probably among the aggressive brawls that have taken place this season. Likewise, the NBA was going to hand down fines. The league announced both Lu Dort and Jeremiah Fears would be penalized with a $25,000 fine for their on-court altercation. The league focused on the players grabbing each other’s jerseys in an “aggressive manner” as the basis for their decision.

The game itself had that kind of atmosphere. Thunder head coach Mike Daigneault noted a prior incident between Jaylin Williams and Saddiq Bey. Furthermore, he also criticized the officiating crew for not handling the situation well.

“I thought they lost control of the game in the final minutes …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. Because if they do that, everybody stops playing, and you can legislate the situation as you normally would,” Daigneault said.

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However, any immediate fallout between the two teams is now off the table. Oklahoma City swept the season series 3-0, with the latest meeting being the most competitive. With the Pelicans sitting 15th in the West, a playoff matchup is unlikely, meaning the Fears-Dort tension will have to carry over into next season.