Dylan Harper’s father, Ron Harper, made a violent suggestion to help the San Antonio Spurs battle the Oklahoma City Thunder’s “flopping” tactics. Several critics, including Harper’s former NBA champion parent, were appalled at the Thunder players selling calls in Friday’s Game 3.
They felt it disrupted the game’s flow and swayed it in Oklahoma City’s favor. Amid the outpouring of protests against the Thunder’s whistle, Harper’s father took to X to make a violent suggestion.
“I wish players would start stepping on players as they flop. Hands, chest, fingers, chest, make them pay a price,” Harper wrote.
The Spurs crowd in the arena also went berserk with chants against the referees and the Thunder’s head of the snake, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They shouted “flopper” in sync every time Gilgeous-Alexander earned a whistle or made a trip to the free-throw line.
The reigning NBA MVP had 12 trips to the foul line and converted all shots. It allowed Gilgeous-Alexander to overcome a rough shooting night from the field as he went 6 of 17 to score 26 on the night.
The Spurs and Thunder had the same free throw attempts (33). The Thunder made 28, while San Antonio converted 27. The referees whistled the Spurs for three more fouls than OKC. The box score doesn’t suggest that the refereeing impacted the game as the Thunder won 123-108.
However, Spurs supporters felt the timing, frequency and legitimacy of the calls hindered the outcome.
Dylan Harper has a rough Game 3 after overcoming injury struggles
Dylan Harper returned to the bench in Game 3 after starting the first two games. The rookie was exceptional when filling in for De’Aaron Fox. But after sustaining an adductor injury in Game 2, Harper wasn’t at his best on Friday in front of the Spurs crowd. He managed a measly six points on 2 of 7 shots with three rebounds, two assists and two turnovers in 17 minutes.
Harper was a plus-minus -13. The Spurs needed him to get going as the Thunder’s bench was firing on all cylinders. After San Antonio started the game on a 15-0 run, OKC’s second unit brought it back in the contest.
Jared McCain scored 24 points on 47.6% shooting, while Jaylin Williams added 18 and Alex Caruso scored 15. The Thunder bench had 76 of the team’s 123 points, while San Antonio’s bench could only produce 23. All of Thunder’s first four players off the bench scored over 10 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren were the only starters to score more than five points. The Spurs will hope Dylan Harper bounces back and replicates his Game 1 success, in which he dropped 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished six assists and made seven steals.
