THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 3, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
NY Post
New York Post
3 Mar 2025


NextImg:Thunder-Spurs game turns ugly with scuffle as multiple players ejected

Tensions flared Sunday night when three players were ejected from a Thunders-Spurs clash.

With Oklahoma City leading by six with a little more than three minutes to play in the third quarter, San Antonio forward Jeremy Sochan skied in for a dunk.

Rather than celebrate the dunk, though, Sochan rushed to mid-court where the scuffle had begun

“I went for a dunk, and then all I see is just everyone going to one spot,” Sochan said postgame. “So, like I had to go to the same spot.”

At the nucleus of it all were the Spurs’ Julian Champagnie and the Thunder’s Kenrich Williams.

While Champagnie made a pass, he struck Williams in the face with his elbow — or at least that’s how Williams reacted. The two instantly began jawing and shoving back and forth before it escalated.

Thunder’s Kenrich Williams reacts to an inadvertent elbow from Spurs’ Julian Champagnie. AP
Spurs’ Julian Champagnie and Thunder’s Kenrich Williams begin the pushing and shoving which led to a scuffle between the teams. Getty Images

“When people are aggressive, there are a lot of coincidental elbows or contact,” Spurs interim 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.”

While Champagnie and Williams were the stars of the scuffle, Sochan and Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort were among those who also got involved.

Champagnie, Williams, Sochan and Dort all received double technicals — and all except Sochan were ejected. According to Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, Dort’s was ejected for something he said.

De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephon Castle, Keldon Johnson, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins were the other players on the court at the time and all were involved in the altercation.

Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan and Thunder’s Lu Dort at the center of an on-court dispute between their teams. Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The Thunder went on to win, 146-132.

“We had an altercation?” Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams joked during his postgame interview with ESPN. “It made us refocus, figure out what’s important.”

Williams certainly had no trouble refocusing as he finished with a career-high 41 points, alongside seven assists, six rebounds and zero turnovers.

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jalen Williams speaks to ESPN following his 41-point performance in the Thunder’s win over the Spurs. NBAE via Getty Images

While he wasn’t happy with his team, Daigneault said there was reason for the Thunder’s frustration.

“We have not been a team that’s retaliated very much,” Daigneault said. “We retaliated tonight. We have the worst free throw differential in the NBA … I think there’s a cumulative frustration, and I think our guys finally got to a point where they had had enough.”