Mulling it overnight, the NBA announced a batch of punishments for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Washington Wizards. A first-half altercation highlights OKC’s 132-111 win over the rebuilding team.
Moments before halftime arrived, a mundane inbounds play turned viral. Jaylin Williams and Justin Champagnie got into a shoving match. Eventually, Ajay Mitchell joined in to back up his teammate. That only escalated things. Anthony Gill charged in to bump him into a deck of chairs. Cason Wallace got into it, too.
After both sides were broken up, the referees took about 10 minutes to figure out the punishments. All four were ejected. Williams and Champagnie were hit with double technical fouls. Mitchell and Wallace were hit with one technical foul. Just like that, the Thunder were without three rotation players.
Afterward, Crew Chief John Goble explained their decision to kick out four players. In a Pool Report, he said that Williams and Champagnie were ejected for escalating things. Meanwhile, Mitchell and Wallace were removed for making the situation worse. Gill wasn’t because he was shoved from behind.
On Sunday, the NBA announced that Mitchell and Champagnie will serve one-game suspensions. That means Mitchell will miss OKC’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. Williams was fined $50,000. Wallace and Gill were each fined $35,000.
Well, that settles that. The Thunder will be without one of their key rotation players. They should still be able to handle business against the Sixers. But you never want to miss games over avoidable things like a suspension from a scuffle.
