The tension boiled over early in the second quarter when Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox grabbed Chet Holmgren from behind during a post-up and dragged him to the floor, drawing a Flagrant 1.

Every Thunder player on the floor converged, and four technical fouls followed — one on Wembanyama and one each on Jaylin, Jalen and Kenrich Williams. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points in the win, per ESPN.

The stat line is the story. Holmgren, the primary defender on Victor Wembanyama after his four-point, four-rebound Game 7 dud in June's conference finals, opened the season with 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, per ESPN.

Wembanyama finished 1-of-13 from the field — though Yahoo Sports notes he went 10-of-12 from the line, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked six shots.

Yahoo Sports reports the Thunder's mixed coverages, timed hits and constant movement made the French star double- and triple-think before reacting, rendering him ineffective offensively for nearly 35 minutes.

The striking part, according to Yahoo Sports, is that the Thunder built a near-30-point lead even though Jalen Williams missed 11 of 16 attempts, Cason Wallace hit no threes, and Holmgren was not particularly effective offensively.

Gilgeous-Alexander's 32 points on 27 shots led the way, but Yahoo Sports credits the second unit's 48 points, including rookie Aday Mara's admirable defense on Wembanyama, with carrying the load. ESPN quotes SGA praising Holmgren: 'He changes everything for us.'

San Antonio's own fan site, Pounding The Rock, was blunt: 'whatever broke last June isn't fixed.' The Spurs fell behind 59-33 after a 22-5 Thunder run, and shot 10-for-37 from three with Stephon Castle accounting for half of the makes.

Coach Mitch Johnson said the team came out too amped and put energy in the wrong places, while Castle admitted they took the first good shot instead of making OKC work, per Pounding The Rock. Wembanyama himself told reporters he was 'indecisive, overthinking it.'

The three-guard lineup of Fox, Castle and Harper is the Spurs' clearest silver lining: Pounding The Rock notes they started the second half together and fueled a 23-9 run that cut a 21-point deficit to seven, with all 23 points from those three.

Gilgeous-Alexander downplayed the result as 'the first game of the season,' but Yahoo Sports frames OKC as a veteran championship group reminding a rising rival of its pedigree.

San Antonio faces Houston on Friday; Fox brushed off the flagrant by saying 'I didn't throw him that hard, I promise you,' per ESPN.