Pool Report Explains OKC Thunder Ejections vs. Wizards

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Washington Wizards met up on Saturday which should have been a blip on the NBA radar. It eventually turned into the lopsided blowout everyone expected as the Thunder dominated the fourth quarter 29-15 and eventualy got up by 25 points before taking home the win, 132-111.

Though in between, the Wizards put up more of a fight –– literally –– than anyone could have expected. Washington forced Oklahoma City to endure 15 lead changes and 12 ties in this tilt before letting go of the rope and being blown out in their home building during the final frame.

In the midsts of this game, the officiating crew ejected four players. Three from Oklahoma City in Jaylin Williams, Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell. One from Washington, Justin Champagine. This foursome, plus Anthony Gill, got into a dust up with 27 seconds to go in the first half. Gill, like the Thunder trio, was only seen shoving a pile of humanity on the baseline. Champaigne was the only player to make contact with another player as he slapped Mitchell.

Though, Gill was not ejected which led to many questions for NBA official John Goble to answer postgame.

"Initally Champagine and [Jaylin] Williams were assessed technical fouls for pushing each other each other during the dead ball. Champagine was then assessed a technical foul for making contact to Mitchell's face. During review, a second technical foul was assessed to Williams for his actions during the scrum," Goble told the NBA pool reporter Josh Robbins of the Athletic.

As for why Mitchell and Wallace were ejected from this contest as fall out from the tango on the baseline, Gobble kept it short and sweet.

"They were ejected for not acting as peacemakers and escalating the altercation," the NBA offical explained of Mitchell and Wallace's ejections.

Though this did leave one question still out there for Goble's crew and that was the lack of ejection for Washington Wizards swingman Anthony Gill, who was seen in the replay review shoving Mitchell and acting in the same manner as Wallace who was kicked out of the game.

"It was observed that Wallace pushed Gill into the altercation and after falling on the floor, it was not observed that Gill did anything in an unsportsmanlike manner to assess a penalty," Goble detailed.

If you believe that, I have beach front property in Kansas to sell you. However, the next time you see an NBA pool report that features an official admitting to a botched call or decision will be the first time so this statement is just par for the course.

While no one expects the NBA to hand out any lingering punishments post game it is an interesting storyline to watch heading into Monday's affair with the Philadelphia 76ers as the OKC Thunder continue this Eastern Conference road trip.

Pool Report from Thunder Vs. Wizards. The refs viewed Wallace as pushing Gil into the altercation. pic.twitter.com/FD6fM4H43E
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) March 22, 2026