On Saturday evening, the OKC Thunder managed to prevail victoriously over the Houston Rockets in an NBA Cup semifinal that proved to be a defensive masterclass.

Of course, as is generally the case with any defensive battle, tensions between these two rival clubs eventually rose, particularly late in the fourth period when big man Alperen Sengun pushed point guard Cason Wallace in the back as he fought for a rebound , which resulted in a personal altercation.

After being separated by their respective teams, both players received technical fouls for their role in the on-field skirmish.

While the scrum may have dispersed quickly and came at a time when the Thunder had all but secured their spot in the NBA Cup Finals (down to 13 players with 40.4 seconds left), it was certainly something that caught the attention of both fans, pundits and even players riled up , with Isaiah Hartenstein going out of his way to show his support for his second-year teammate after the game.

The thunderous Isaiah Hartenstein overplays Cason Wallace after the scrum

Speaking to reporters in the locker room after the 111-96 win over Houston, the Thunder center was outwardly excited when asked for his thoughts on the technical decision on Wallace.

“I loved it. My son got involved. I already got his punishment, so that’s all good. I loved it. It was Caso all year long.” Hartenstein said.

Hartenstein may have been the first to financially compensate Wallace’s seemingly celebrated actions, but he was far from the only Thunder player upset about the in-game controversy, with Wallace himself even going so far as to berate Sengun for it he had tried. He shakes his feathers and says: “We won’t let ourselves be beaten up.”

A very simple but straight to the point answer from the second year, and that sentiment was clearly felt on the field as the entire team came to his defense during the game.

Even the often quiet Luguentz Dort got involved in the situation, albeit with a rather simple retort that suggested the same thing as Wallace and threw in a few subtle jibes along the way.

“We just play the right way. We don’t really talk to other people. We don’t do anything after the games. We don’t go live or do stuff like that. We just respect the game. Every time we go out there, we compete, we try to win, we improve and then we get eliminated.” There said.

The live comment refers to Houston player Tari Eason, who literally went live on social media after the Thunders lost to the Rockets earlier this month.

This shows that while many consider the Thunder to be childish and immature due to their post-game interview antics (which they were in full force on Saturday), they see themselves as a mature team that knows how to take care of themselves business takes care of.

This is certainly the start of a heated rivalry in the Western Conference, and it appears the Thunder are ready to take this challenge head on.