The second quarter of the NBA season opener got messy fast, and the Spurs and Thunder made it clear they’re not interested in playing nice.
It started with a mismatch involving De'Aaron Fox and Chet Holmgren, and Fox’s answer was to take Holmgren to the floor. That set off the kind of reaction nobody had to guess was coming.
Both benches cleared, bodies got involved, and the scuffle spilled across the floor with Victor Wembanyama stepping in for Fox. Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams, and Jalen Williams were also pulled into the fray, via Hoop Central.
Eventually, things settled enough for play to continue, but the officials still had work to do. Fox was hit with a Flagrant 1 for the hard throw-down on Holmgren. Wembanyama picked up a technical foul, and all three of the Williams on the Thunder were tagged with technicals as well.
The tension fits the way these teams have treated each other. Oklahoma City and San Antonio have now met 13 times, including the 2026 Western Conference Finals and the 2026-27 NBA season opener, and the edge between them has only sharpened. With Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading teams that many expected to chase the Larry O'Brien trophy, every foul seems to carry more weight than usual.
On the scoreboard, the Thunder had already set the tone. They won the first quarter 34-28, and the second quarter was slipping away from San Antonio too, with the Spurs trailing 17-5 when things got chippy.
For now, this is a rivalry being built in real time, and the physicality is already front and center.
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Spurs Thunder Tension Boils Over On Opening Night
Opening night got chippy in a hurry for Oklahoma City, with the second quarter turning into a full-tilt confrontation between the Thunder and Spurs. It started when De'Aaron Fox shoved Chet Holmgren to the floor, and what followed drew in multiple players, including Victor Wembanyama and several members of the Williams family on the Thunder side, as the officials worked to separate everyone and restore order.
The sequence left both teams waiting on the whistle before play could settle back in, and the officiating crew wound up sorting through a messy scene with a flagrant foul and a handful of technicals. For a Thunder team trying to set the tone early in the season, the dustup added another layer of edge to a matchup that was already carrying plenty of opening-night energy. [Read more 🡒]
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Midway through the third quarter, with Oklahoma City already in control, Mara helped deliver one of the nights best sequences. He swatted Victor Wembanyama near the rim, then turned around and finished an alley-oop from Ajay Mitchell, a burst of rim protection and finishing touch that gave Thunder fans a real glimpse of why the organization is so intrigued by him. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Face A Real Opening Night Lineup Decision Vs Spurs
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Cason Wallace is in position to be part of that solution after his five-year extension, giving the Thunder another piece to build around in the backcourt. The timing makes the opener especially interesting because San Antonio is expected to use a three-guard setup with De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper, so Oklahoma City will have to decide how it wants to line up against a very different kind of backcourt challenge right out of the gate. [Read more 🡒]