By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season to 11 games with a 132-111 victory over the Washington Wizards in Capital One Arena on Saturday. However, a chaotic first-half brawl resulted in four player ejections.
The altercation ignited with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter after a basket by Washington’s Anthony Gill, when Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams and Washington’s Justin Champagnie began shoving one another under the hoop.
The confrontation rapidly escalated as players from both benches joined the scrum, which eventually spilled into the spectator seating area behind the basket. Following an extensive video review by crew chief John Goble and his officiating team, Champagnie was ejected for throwing a punch, while Williams, Belgian guard Ajay Mitchell, and Cason Wallace were all tossed for their roles in escalating the situation.
Despite the loss of three rotation players, the Thunder leaned on a 40-point performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a dominant German center, Isaiah Hartenstein, who tallied nine points, 20 rebounds, ten assists, and two steals in 25 minutes. Mitchell, a second European starter, exited with 14 points in 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Serbia’s Nikola Topic remained on assignment with the Oklahoma City Blue.
The Wizards, who suffered their 15th consecutive loss, saw a team-high 21 points from French starter Bilal Coulibaly, while fellow countryman Alex Sarr ended up with 14 points, eight assists, five rebounds, one block, and one steal. Serbian reserve Tristan Vukcevic added six points and seven rebounds.