Two punches were thrown on Sunday as the Minnesota Timberwolves melted down in the heat of a playoff race.
In the second quarter, All-Star center Rudy Gobert was seen throwing a punch and connecting with teammate Kyle Anderson during Minnesota’s pivotal 113-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Meanwhile, defensive savant Jaden McDaniels decided to punch a wall instead.
The results were the same: Both players were immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game.
The argument originally started when Anderson told the center to block more shots, and it escalated even further when the wing told Gobert to “Shut the f-ck up, b-tch,” per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
After being punched, Anderson charged at Gobert, but their teammates stopped the fight in its tracks.
Notably, Timberwolves’ forward Taurean Prince immediately stood from his seat to shove Gobert away from Anderson.
Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards took clear exception to the punch and yelled in Gobert’s direction right as Anderson was hit.
At the same time, Anderson got a bump in playing time in the second half of a pivotal playoff-implicating game against the Pelicans.
Rudy Gobert punches teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout scuffle of their final 2022-23 NBA regular season game. Gobert was sent home at halftime.
McDaniels was also ruled out for the game and post-game evaluations revealed that he fractured his hand as a result of the punch, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Following the escapade, Gobert texted his teammates in a group chat, “We’ll speak about it and move on. We’re grown men,” according to ESPN.
Gobert also posted an apology on Twitter, saying “emotions got the best” of him.
“I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said,” Gobert said. “I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate.”
Kyle Anderson #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves is held back by a teammate after an incident during a timeout in the second quarter of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans Getty Images
Kyle Anderson #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves is held back by a teammate after being punched by Rudy Gobert Getty ImagesDespite all the drama, the win was crucial for the Timberwolves by putting them No. 8 in the Western Conference, giving them a cushion in the play-in tournament if they lose out on winning the No. 7 seed against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
The winner of the play-in game for the No. 7 seed will face the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies in the playoffs.
