PORTLAND, Ore. — For all the blows he has taken to the face over these two seasons with the Miami Heat, Pelle Larsson rarely has found himself caught up in fighting words.

That’s what made Tuesday night’s 130-117 victory over the Sacramento Kings such an outlier with the Swedish 2024 second-round pick out of Arizona.

In the second quarter, there was Larsson being sent to the floor by a shoulder shiver from normally mild-mannered Kings veteran guard DeMar DeRozan, with Heat captain Bam Adebayo having to intervene.

And in the fourth, it was Larsson knocked to the court from midair by a violent foul from DeRozan, with the two then exchanging words.

The upshot was a technical foul on DeRozan for the first act, a flagrant for the second — and universal appreciation for Larsson from teammates.

“It was just basketball,” Larsson said, downplaying the dramatics.

While hardly an enforcer, with just one flagrant foul and no technical fouls over these first two NBA seasons, the toughness continues to win over the locker room.

“It’s just the mentality and approach, not being able to back down from anybody,” teammate Norman Powell said of a direction the Heat is seeking from the entire roster. “And that, like I said, resonates with the team, ‘We’re gonna make a stand. We’re gonna be gritty. We’re gonna be tough.’

“We don’t mind if it’s gonna get in the mud and guys are gonna get chippy. We’re not gonna back down, and that’s the style of brand that we need to play going forward.”

The first time Larsson was sent sprawling by DeRozan, Adebayo rushed in. The second time, Larsson took it upon himself to bounce back up at DeRozan.

“All I said was what he said to me back to him,” Larsson said. “But it was just basketball.”

In the locker room at Golden 1 Center, teammates made sure to be heard over Larsson’s postgame interview, including from the background, “That’s my crazy-ass Swedish boy right there.”

Coach Erik Spoelstra was a bit more tactful while offering similar sentiment.

“He brought a force to the game on both sides of the court, and it just kind of became contagious,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat next moving on to Thursday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center at the midpoint of this five-game western swing that continues Saturday night against the Utah Jazz and concludes Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns.

DeMar DeRozan earned a Flagrant 1 for this foul on Pelle Larsson pic.twitter.com/Dfmpyq8Dm7

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 21, 2026

To a degree, Kings coach Doug Christie also noted Larsson’s competitiveness when discussing DeRozan’s actions.

“I think more than anything,” Christie said, “DeMar is, he’s a high-level scorer, obviously, and the bumping and the holding, slapping on the arms, when it’s not called, it can be a little frustrating.

“I appreciate that. We have to make sure that we take pride in what it is that we’re out there doing.”

For Larsson, the victory over the Kings, one that raised the Heat’s record to 14-9 when he starts this season, was about more than the theatrics. There also were a career-high nine assists, as well as 16 points and six rebounds, with Larsson closing 7 of 9 from the field.

Spoelstra said Larsson continues to emerge as a secondary playmaker.

“It’s not always necessarily a point-guard position,” he said of Larsson’s role in the passing game. “But he’s got a great feel to get into the paint and make the appropriate reads. I think he’s our best lob passer. He’s good on sprays.

“If you don’t bring an extra defender, he’s a very good finisher, as well. He’s just gaining confidence, and we want that.”

As the Heat’s offense has evolved this season, Larsson said it has grown more similar to how he played at Arizona.

Bam Adebayo gets into Derozan’s face after a foul on Pelle Larsson pic.twitter.com/ZfvLT1jQCi

— r/nba_highlights (@rNBAHighlights) January 21, 2026

“I think a few things in our offense now are similar to what we were doing in Arizona. So that definitely helps,” he said. “Some things are the exact same where I can feel comfortable.

“But I think it’s more just having another year under my belt with these guys, with the coaches, learning from them. They’re hard on us, but for good reason. They believe in us. So I’ve just been trying to learn and feel way more comfortable.”