Tristan Thompson almost got a front-row seat to a violent street fight over the weekend ... but thankfully for the NBA player, he hightailed out of the area just before the fists started to fly.
The wild scene all went down Saturday night at Papi Steak in Miami ... when the former Lakers center was outside of the restaurant with the hot spot's owner, David Grutman, and a few other men.
It's unclear what exactly was happening on the sidewalk or what Thompson's involvement in it all was ... but check out the video, it seems some of the people at the scene were angry about something -- and when Thompson sensed the apparent tension, he bolted.