Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox suggested Thunder center Chet Holmgren might have done some acting when he landed on the floor after they became entangled in the paint early in the second quarter of Oklahoma City's 116-104 season-opening victory Tuesday night.
"I just tried to take a foul. I don't think I'm that strong," Fox said.
Holmgren's fall led to a dust-up in which Spurs assistant coaches had to separate Victor Wembanyama from Jaylin Williams. Wembanyama, Williams and two other Thunder players, Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams, each got hit with technical fouls.
Fox received a flagrant 1 foul.
"Somebody grabs you like that and you're flying on the floor like that, you got other problems to worry about," Fox said. "I didn't throw him that hard, I promise you."
Oklahoma City put together a 9-0 run after the scuffle.
Holmgren said he didn't want to spend much time thinking about the altercation.
"At the end of the day, I'm going to keep moving, but I appreciate my teammates having my back," he said. "I'm not necessarily sure how we exactly got three technicals for a reaction to something else. I don't totally understand that. But at the end of the day, I feel like anything you're not willing to reciprocate is an advantage for the other team. So if they want to play physical, we have to match that, and the refs are going to do their job in keeping that within the guidelines."
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There’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Spurs' De'Aaron Fox questions fall by Thunder's Chet Holmgren.