Thunder's K. Williams and Dort, Spurs' Champagnie ejected - ESPN

SAN ANTONIO — A testy third-quarter scuffle nearly erupted into a full-blown fight Sunday in a matchup between Oklahoma City and San Antonio, resulting in the ejection of three players during the Thunder's 146-132 win over the Spurs.

«We had an altercation?» Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams jokingly asked during his postgame interview on the court with ESPN. «It made us refocus, figure out what's important.»

Officials issued a pair of double-technical fouls to Kenrich Williams and Julian Champagnie as well as Jeremy Sochan and Lu Dort after the incident, and ejected Williams, Champagnie and Dort.

Guarding Champagnie on the wing with 3:00 left in the third quarter, Williams took an elbow to the jaw from the San Antonio forward as he fired a pass into the lane to Stephon Castle, who found a cutting Sochan under the basket for a two-handed jam. As that play unfolded, Williams and Champagnie stood near the scorer's table, shoving one another.

«When people are aggressive, there are a lot of coincidental elbows or contact,» Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. «I don't really know who was at fault to be honest. But it just looked like that was what initiated it. And then there was the response on both ends. [It] just looked like Kenrich Williams was being aggressive, and Julian was opening up. I don't know if that's an offensive foul now. I don't know where that line is of what space you're allowed.»

Players, officials, security personnel and coaches from both teams immediately rushed to Williams and Champagnie to break up the scuffle. But the situation escalated as Sochan and Dort grabbed one another in a scrum that involved more than 10 people, including Castle, De'Aaron Fox, Keldon Johnson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason