Fox Throws Holmgren to the Floor as Spurs and Thunder Scuffle on Opening Night

Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 116-104 on opening night, but the scoreline is not what Tuesday will be remembered for. Less than three minutes into the second quarter, De’Aaron Fox threw Chet Holmgren to the floor, both teams came together under the basket, and the officials needed a long review to sort one foul from the scuffle it started. The game was a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals, which the Spurs won in seven games, and it took less than a half to produce the new season’s first incident between them.

What happened in the second quarter?

With 9:21 left in the second quarter and Oklahoma City ahead 37-28, Ajay Mitchell threw an entry pass toward Chet Holmgren. De’Aaron Fox had been switched onto Holmgren, a guard giving up close to a foot in height, and he threw the Thunder centre to the floor as the pass arrived, USA Today and ClutchPoints report. Jaylin Williams came straight at Fox. Victor Wembanyama shoved Jaylin Williams, Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams joined the group, and players and officials separated the two teams while the home crowd booed. The officials then went to the review monitor with the game stopped.

What did the officials decide?

The review split the incident into two parts. The foul itself was called a Flagrant 1 on Fox. In the announcement transcribed by EssentiallySports, the officials called the throw “an unnecessary act” and a flagrant foul penalty one, then named the technical fouls that followed from the scuffle: Wembanyama for San Antonio, and Jaylin Williams, Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams for Oklahoma City. EssentiallySports reports that Wembanyama then took two free throws for the Spurs and Holmgren took free throws for the Thunder before play resumed. A Flagrant 1 carries no ejection, and Fox proved the point by playing 31:56 in total and scoring 10 of his 14 points in the third quarter.

Was anyone ejected or hurt?

No. No report from the game describes an ejection, and the box score shows both central figures playing full roles. Holmgren logged 30:31 with 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and went 8 of 8 at the free throw line. Fox finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Whatever the league office makes of the incident later, on the night itself the cost to both teams stopped at the free throws.

Why did three players named Williams get technical fouls?

Coincidence, carried by one minute of basketball. Jaylin, Jalen and Kenrich Williams are three different Oklahoma City players, and ClutchPoints noted the shared surname in its report of the penalty list. It is the detail that travelled furthest on social media, and it is also the whole story on that point. There is no shared offence behind it. Each man was penalised for his own part in the same sequence, starting with Jaylin Williams confronting Fox on Holmgren’s behalf.

Did the scuffle change the game?

Reporting first. Oklahoma City answered the stoppage with a 9-0 run, Jalen and Kenrich Williams scoring five of the points, and stretched the lead to 59-33 before taking a 65-44 margin into halftime, Sportsnet reports. San Antonio opened the second half with a 23-9 run and cut the lead to single digits, and Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 24 points, but Oklahoma City closed out the 116-104 win behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 32 points and Jared McCain’s 20 off the bench. Wembanyama finished with 12 points on 1 of 13 shooting, 13 rebounds and six blocks. His only made field goal was an alley-oop from Fox as the third quarter expired, and one of his missed attempts was blocked at the rim by Aday Mara, the rookie whose debut in the same game settled the clearance dispute Zaragoza had raised last week. The scuffle did not swing the scoreboard in any way the numbers support. What it changed is the temperature of a fixture these teams will play again this season, and it showed how San Antonio plans to handle the Holmgren matchup: physical switching, even when the switch leaves a guard on him.

Why does this fixture keep producing incidents?

The history is short and recent. San Antonio beat Oklahoma City in seven games in last season’s Western Conference Finals, winning Game 7 111-103 in Oklahoma City on May 30, then lost the NBA Finals to New York. USA Today notes that Wembanyama was ejected from a playoff game against Minnesota in that same postseason run, given a Flagrant 2 for an elbow on Naz Reid. EssentiallySports reports that Holmgren had downplayed the rivalry in the days before Tuesday’s game, saying facing San Antonio did not feel different from facing another contender. Tuesday’s second quarter is the first evidence of the season that the players feel otherwise, whatever they say in the buildup. The officiating frame matters too. The league opened this season with an emphasis on hard contact and exaggerated reactions, the same emphasis that produced a flopping technical on Jalen Brunson in the preseason. A Flagrant 1 with four technicals in the second quarter of the first game between these two is an early marker of where the line sits this season.

What happens next?

No fine, reclassification or suspension from the incident had been announced in the coverage checked on Tuesday night, and neither club had posted a comment about the incident in the pieces reviewed. Flagrant fouls are routinely reviewed by the league office after the game, so the next development to watch is any league announcement in the coming days. Oklahoma City, whose starters came through the summer with their contracts settled, including Cason Wallace’s five-year extension, host Denver on Thursday. San Antonio host Houston in Austin on Friday. For the Spurs, Wembanyama’s shooting night will draw more attention inside the club than his technical. His preseason alley-oop against Sacramento showed the other end of his game a week earlier. Tuesday showed the part Oklahoma City has a plan for.