Isaiah Hartenstein Will 'Pay the Fine' For Cason Wallace in Rockets Dust-Up

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets battled in the NBA Cup semi-finals down in Las Vegas, Nevada. As the OKC Thunder pulled out a 111-96 win over the Rockets, which included late game fireworks.

Dec 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) controls the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the first quarter in a semifinal of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off a 111-96 win over the Houston Rockets in the NBA Cup semi-finals. The Thunder were able to pull away from the Rockets thanks to a third quarter run, which was too much for a limited Houston offense to overcome.

This game included fireworks in the final frame. Thunder second year guard Cason Wallace went chest-to-chest with Rockets forward Alperen Sengun in a minor dust up. This is something Oklahoma City's locker room enjoyed, with newly signed center Isaiah Hartenstein going as far as to say he would pay the fine for Wallace.

“I love it. I already got his fine. That’s been [Cason Wallace] all year. He’s probably not been talked about enough," Hartenstein said before adding “we’re not gonna back down from nobody.”

These are the same sentiments from Wallace himself when he was peppered with questions about the exchange with Sengun.

“We just played hard. Whatever happens out there happens. We’re not gonna get punked or shot down by anybody," Wallace said.

This being the team's identity is a great thing for Oklahoma City, a team who lost the physical battle against the Dallas Mavericks to doom them in the playoffs a year ago. Defensive ace Lu Dort also chimed in on the matter.

“We just play the right way. We don’t really talk to other people. We don't do anything after games. We don’t go on live or do stuff like that. We just respect the game. Every time we go out there we compete, try to win, we dap up and then we out," Dort said.

Hartenstein on the Cason-Sengun interaction late game.

“I love it. I already got his fine. That’s been Caso all year. He’s probably not been talked about enough.”

Eventually says “we’re not gonna back down from nobody.” pic.twitter.com/y49RAvmTBB
— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) December 15, 2024

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