The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are tied at a game apiece in the Western Conference Finals as the series shifts to the Frost Bank Center. After winning a Game 1 double overtime thriller, the Spurs let injury and fatigue catch up to them, dropping Game 2.

In the second game, Victor Wembanyama scored 21 points and nabbed 17 rebounds, although it came at a cost. All night long, it was clear that the Thunder--especially Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein--were getting away with shoves, grabs, and other fouls. 

As the referees swallowed their whistles, frustration mounted, and the Spurs knew that they would have to respond if they wanted to regain the lead in the series.

During shootaround on Friday, the Spurs revealed that they don't plan on taking the high road.

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The Spurs ranked 26th in the league in personal fouls per game, but don't let that fool you. Stephon Castle, Keldon Johnson, and Julian Champagnie can all be physical, in-your-face players, and Dylan Harper and De'Aaron Fox don't mind mixing things up.

In Game 3, the Spurs seem perfectly content to rack up fouls, as long as they're being called both ways. It's the price they might have to pay in order to send a clear message.

"Hit back, honestly hit back," said Champagnie when asked what his response should be. "The guys hit [Wembanyama], they pull him, they grab his jersey, they're grabbing his arm when he's jumping. Obviously, that's not basketball, that's just a physicality thing. That's up to the refs to deal with, not us. But I think as a team, how we can help them is to hit them back, honestly. Do the same things that they're doing to us to them. I'm going to kind of match the level of physicality and then just see how that goes."

This season, fans have seen Castle get into it with Cade Cunningham, Harper get into it with Scoot Henderson, and Fox rile up Deni Avdija. Champagnie, meanwhile, has avoided conflict this season, but he did get into it with the Thunder last year.

If it comes down to it, it seems like Champagnie wouldn't mind a chance to go to battle again.

"I try to stay pretty calm for the most part," he explained. "I'll talk to the ref about it, they're grabbing him, they're pulling him."

Game 3 on Friday isn't a "must-win" game, but don't tell either team that. Expect both squads to play with a degree of desperation usually only saved for elimination games.