March 3 (UPI) -- Three players were ejected, while four drew double technical fouls for their roles in a half-court scuffle in the third quarter of an Oklahoma City Thunder win over the San Antonio Spurs in San Antonio.
The melee occurred with about three minutes remaining in the quarter Sunday at Frost Bank Center.
"It was a blur," Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. "I just tried to separate the blur as best as I could."
Forwards Julian Champagnie and Jeremy Sochan from the Spurs and guard Luguentz Dort and forward Kenrich Williams from the Thunder received the double technicals. Dort, Williams and Champagnie also were ejected.
The sequence started when Champagnie held the ball above the 3-point arc. He then pulled it up over his head and hit Williams in the face with an elbow as he passed to guard Stephon Castle.
Williams took exception to the hit and pushed Champagnie back toward the scorers table. Players from both teams then ran into the area to exchange words and pushes before they were eventually separated. Sochan, who dunked during the play, was involved in another exchange with Dort that included jersey grabbing.
"It happens so much now in our game," Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson said. "It feels like the rule has changed maybe. But when people are aggressive, there is a lot of these incidental elbows or contact.
"I don't really know who is at fault, to be honest. It looked like that is what initiated it and then there was some response on both ends I didn't think much of it. People were just protecting their guys and whatnot. But I didn't think it was anything intentional."
Thunder forward Jalen Williams totaled a career-high 41 points, with seven assists and six rebounds in the win. Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP contender, chipped in 31 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
Dort logged nine points and nine rebounds. Williams did not attempt a shot. Castle led the Spurs with 32 points off the bench. Sochan, who also came off the Spurs bench, chipped in 17 points.
The Spurs outshot the Thunder 56% to 54.5%, but totaled a dozen turnovers, compared to just seven for their foes. The Thunder also held a 45-35 edge in rebounding. They led by as many as 22 points in the 146-132 triumph.
"We have not been a team that's retaliated very much," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "We retaliated [Sunday], but we have the worst free throw differential in the NBA, so more fouls are being called on us than are being called on our opponents. ... I think there is like a cumulative frustration.
"I think our guys finally got to a point where they had enough. We have to have better poise."
The Thunder, who own the NBA's second-best record (49-11), will host the Houston Rockets (37-23) at 8 p.m. EST Monday in Oklahoma City. The Spurs (25-34) will host the Brooklyn Nets (21-39) at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in San Antonio.
