OKC Thunder React to Dust-Up With San Antonio Spurs

In the third quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs got into an altercation that left three ejected and one players controversially left in the game. After the OKC Thunder win over the Spurs, the Thunder reacted to the dust up.

Mar 2, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) in the middle of an altercation during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder toppled the San Antonio Spurs, 146-132 in a chippy contest. The Thunder and Spurs entered the night with the season-series all knotted up at one game each, and the Thunder earned the edge for the 2024-25 campaign.

In this midst of this contest, the Thunder and Spurs got into a little dust-up with Kenrich Williams and Julian Champagine getting tangled up which led to a chest-to-chest meeting of Jeremy Sochan and Lu Dort, as the two grabbed each others collars to have a screaming match.

As the two teams eventually broke up the mid-court huddle, the officials went to the monitor to check the carnage. The refs elected to eject Dort, Williams and Champagine while issuing a singal technical foul to Jeremy Sochan.

Big scrum just broke out here after what appears to be Lu Dort and Jeremy Sochan getting into it. pic.twitter.com/a4AwoBul0H

— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) March 3, 2025

While the Thunder have gotten in more scuffles than in years past, this has still been a team that is very poised and head coach Mark Daigneault touched on what might've caused this dust-up tonight.

"We have not been a team that has retaliated very much, we retaliated tonight. We have the worst free throw differential in the NBA...Kenrich Williams, in Memphis a couple of weeks ago, gets cleaned out, elbow to the head. No call, no review. He could've gotten hurt. Now tonight, again, he takes an elbow on that play. Dort gets illgeal screened more than anybody in this league...The cumulative effect of the pumeling that we take some some plays, boil over in that situation," Daigneault explained.

The decision to toss Dort and not Sochan was puzzling at the time and even more so after THe Thunder bench boss relaid the explaination given to him.

"James Williams ejected him for something Lu said. Fair game. I am assuming that is what Lu said, if James Williams wants to eject him for that, I think it is justified. Again, the issue I have with that is, I heard with my own ears, in the last two weeks, other players say similar or worse things to officials with no response. And the officials are saying 'we are calibrating to the emotion of the game,' great...If we are calibrating with one player, we should be calibrating with Lu Dort. If there is zero tolerance with Lu Dort, there should be zero tolerance with everybody. [The refs] have to figure that out," Daigneault said.

The fall out from this dust-up is yet to be seen from a league standpoint, but the Oklahoma City Thunder have a quick turnaround as they play host to the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back Monday.

Mark Daigneault on the altercation that got Dort, Kenrich and Champagnie ejected:

“We haven’t been a team that’s retaliated very much. We retaliated tonight.”

Said James Williams ejected Lu for “something he said, which is fair game. … the issue I have with that is, I’ve… pic.twitter.com/3LCxnxLSy4

— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) March 3, 2025

Shai on his perspective of the altercation: “It was a blur. I just tried to separate the blur as best as I could.”

Did he think Dort’s ejection made sense (while Sochan remained in the game)?

“I didn’t understand it, but I also didn’t inquire much. … we had a basketball game… pic.twitter.com/amCpxL2MvP

— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) March 3, 2025

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