It was a high-scoring affair as the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the San Antonio Spurs in a 146-132 contest.
Fending off an offensive attack from the Spurs, who nailed 18 3-pointers on the night, the Thunder matched the opposition's pace.
Jalen Williams happened to secure a career-high, scoring 41 points on 15-of-24 shooting, going 4-of-8 on 3-pointers. Adding six rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block -- Williams was clinical in the victory.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points on 10-of-19, adding to his impressive MVP resume for the season.
However, the two sides, in the midst of the high-scoring contest, got into a mid-court altercation, which saw Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams ejected for the Thunder.
Julian Champagnie was ejected for the Spurs and Jeremy Sochan received a technical foul, with all of the technical fouls offsetting.
Why Dort didn't just get a technical, rather than being ejected, was quite confusing, as he wasn't in the original scuffle between Champagnie and Williams.
After the contest, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was asked about the altercation late in the third quarter.
“We haven’t been a team that’s retaliated very much. We retaliated tonight," Daigneault explained.
Mark Daigneault on the altercation that got Dort, Kenrich and Champagnie ejected:
— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) March 3, 2025
“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
The Thunder head coach then offered the explanation he received as to why Dort was also ejected.
“...something he said, which is fair game. … the issue I have with that is, I’ve heard with my own ears in the last two weeks other players say similar or worse things to officials," Daigneault continued.
To be quite frank, Daigneault has a point. The Thunder have been quite even-keeled for a squad that doesn't have the most favorable whistle.
Against the Spurs, though, the team was feisty and retaliated.
Still, Daigneault's squad secured the victory and the Thunder advanced to 49-11 through 60 games played on the season.
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