How Much Money Did Ajay Mitchell, Champagnie, Thunder, Wizards Players Lose from Suspension, Fine?
A physical altercation during the Oklahoma City Thunder's 132-111 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday overshadowed the game, and two players are paying the price.
The NBA announced Sunday that Ajay Mitchell of the Thunder and Justin Champagnie of the Wizards were each suspended one game without pay due to "fighting and escalating an on-court altercation which spilled over into spectator stands."
Oklahoma City forward Jaylin Williams was fined $50,000, while Thunder guard Cason Wallace and Wizards forward Anthony Gill were fined $35,000 each.
The altercation started when Williams and Champagnie exchanged words before Mitchell shoved Champagnie. That escalated things, and Williams, Mitchell, Champagnie and Wallace were all ejected from the contest.
Officials decided to enforce the ejections following a review of the situation.
"I disagreed with their judgment after talking to them and watching it at halftime," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told reporters after the game. "But I've worked with [crew chief] John Goble a long time, and he worked through it with me and we had to agree to disagree and we both moved on."
Despite losing three players to ejection, the Thunder still cruised to a 21-point victory behind 40 points, seven assists, three rebounds and one steal on 17-of-27 shooting from the field. Chet Holmgren added a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds in support.
The result was anything but a surprise, as the reigning champions are 56-15 and sitting atop the Western Conference standings. By comparison, Washington is 16-54 and well outside of any playoff discussions with an eye on next season.
The Wizards have lost 15 games in a row.
Given their respective position in the standings, a suspension for the Thunder is more meaningful as they look to remain ahead of the San Antonio Spurs in the race for the No. 1 seed. San Antonio is three games behind OKC with no more head-to-head games remaining.
Next up for the Thunder is a Monday road game against the Philadelphia 76ers without Mitchell, while the Wizards are at the New York Knicks on Sunday without Champagnie.
Mitchell is averaging 14.2 points, 3.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while Champagnie is averaging 8.3 points and 5.5 rebounds a night.
