The Saturday night clash between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizards in the NBA felt like a PPV from UFC or WWE. A few bumps suddenly escalated to players brawling on top of the fans sitting courtside. Four players had to be ejected, and the officials clarified exactly what transpired.

At the baseline, Thunder forward Jaylin Williams and Wizards forward Justin Champagnie bumped a couple of times. Then it escalated. Ajay Mitchell got involved shortly after, exchanging words and getting mushed in his face. Forward Anthony Gill and guard Cason Wallace weren’t far behind, as the security officials and coaches came in to control the situation. After the review, four players were ejected.

Crew Chief John Goble first answered about two technical fouls each for Justin Champagnie and Jaylin Williams in the Pool Report interview. “Initially Champagnie and Williams were assessed technical fouls for pushing each other during the dead ball. Champagnie was then assessed a second technical foul for making contact to Mitchell’s face. During review, a second technical foul was assessed to Williams for his actions during the scrum.”

Then the question was about Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell’s ejection. ” They were ejected for not acting as peacemakers and escalating the altercation,” said Goble. The final question was about Gill escaping a technical foul call. “It was observed that Wallace pushed Gill into the altercation, and after falling to the floor, it was not observed that Gill did anything in an unsportsmanlike manner to assess a penalty.”

To be clear, Wizards’ Champagnie and Thunder’s Mitchell, Williams, and Wallace were all ejected. A Donnybrook on the baseline transpired, which spilled into the rows of fans near the baseline. It was quick thinking of the official, Nate Green, who grabbed Champagnie and dragged him to the side before Mitchell could connect his flailing arm.

But Mitchell would feel hard done by. When he stuck up for his teammate, Williams, all he received was a slight blow to the forehead.  Then he wanted to get his lick back, but officials and teammates grabbed him, and Mitchell fell into the Wizards’ camera.

The Thunder coach disagreed with the official’s decision

It’s becoming a recurring issue where the OKC players get involved in a brawl. While their defensive abilities lead to opponents complaining, Thunder stars don’t shy away from taking it a step further. This was the third skirmish since January. The first one was when Thunder guard Lu Dort and New Orleans rookie Jeremiah Fears had a postgame altercation on Jan. 27.

The league took appropriate action, with two players each being fined $25,000. In Febraury, Dort was ejected after tripping Denver center Nikola Jokic. In fact, even then, Williams came to his teammates’ rescue. But he and Jokic were assessed technical fouls. While Thunder has been guilty on both of the above occasions, this time the head coach defended his players.

“I disagreed with their judgment after talking to them and watching it at halftime,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said to the media. He was also near the center court at halftime for an extended discussion about the sequence, trying to understand what went wrong. While the impact of ejections during the regular season can be minimized. But during the playoffs, with already heightened intensity, these issues could hamper their ability to retain.