15 November 2023 , 15:42
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Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert had some savage words for rival Draymond Green after brawling with him on the court during Tuesday night's game, claiming the Golden State Warriors star didn't want to play without Steph Curry.
The Frenchman’s team took on the Warriors in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season tournament at the Chase Center on Tuesday. Less than two minutes into the game, before a point had even been scored, Gobert was put in a headlock by Green after their teammates got involved in a tussle.
As they ran back up the court, Jaden McDaniels and Klay Thompson got tangled up which turned into a physical altercation with the pair grappling with one another. It began when they both fought for a long rebound and they kept hold of one another in transition. They began to swing each other around and push, with the Timberwolves player tearing his opponent’s jersey.
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When players from both teams saw what was transpiring, they quickly came to help break up the melee, but some punishments were handed out. Both Thompson and McDaniels were ejected for the scuffle, while Green was thrown out for the second time in three games for his actions against Gobert.
Post-game, the center was furious with the four-time All-Star and claimed he only wants to play with teammate Steph Curry, who missed last night’s game due to right knee soreness. "Every time Steph doesn't play, (Green) doesn't want to play without his guy Steph, so he does anything he can to get ejected," Gobert said, referring to Green's actions as "clown behavior" on several occasions.
After the officials conducted a review of the incident, McDaniels and Thompson were assessed two technical fouls each and Green was given a flagrant foul 2. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it was the first game in the past 25 seasons in which multiple players were ejected before either team had scored a point.
"My first thought was just, 'I'm not going to fight. I need to be in this game to help my team,'" Gobert added. "I just showed the ref that I had my hands up, and I just waited until the situation was over. Nothing more than that. It wasn't a good enough choke to put me to sleep."
The Warriors were without Green and Klay Thompson after both were ejected in the opening two minutes (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Thompson does not believe Thompson should have been ejected and offered an explanation for Green's actions. "There is no way Klay should have been ejected. That was ridiculous," he said. "I was upset about that. As far as the Draymond piece of it, Rudy had his hands on Klay's neck. That's why Draymond went after Rudy."
Despite losing two of their most important players, the Warriors battled on and were leading the game heading into the fourth quarter. But they were outscored by 10 in the final 12 minutes and scored just 18 points, as their lack of firepower was exposed at the most crucial time.
Rookie Brandin Podziemski top-scored for the Warriors with 23, while Dario Saric added 21 and Chris Paul managed 15. Karl Anthony-Towns scored a game-high 33 points to go with 11 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves to victory and hand the Warriors their fourth consecutive defeat.