The altercation involving 3 players happened less than 2 minutes into Tuesday's Wolves vs. Warriors game.
Sonja Chen | The Associated Press
Draymond Green was ejected after putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock, and Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniel were also tossed.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) <\/strong>–Draymond Green was ejected after\u00a0putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock<\/span>\u00a0and two other players were thrown out after an altercation early in the Minnesota Timberwolves\u2019 104-101 win<\/a> over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
\u201cNot much to say,\u201d Gobert said. \u201cThat\u2019s just clown behavior.\u201d
The game was still scoreless and not even two minutes had elapsed when Golden State\u2019s Klay Thompson and Minnesota\u2019s Jaden McDaniels got in a shoving match near midcourt following a Timberwolves possession. Gobert stepped in and grabbed hold of Thompson before Green rushed in and pulled Gobert away from behind with his arm around the center\u2019s neck.
Thompson\u2019s jersey was ripped during the scuffle, which led to Green\u2019s second ejection of the season and two free throws for Gobert.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said McDaniels instigated the altercation and Thompson should not have been ejected.
\u201cHe\u2019s running up the floor, and the guy grabs his jersey, and he\u2019s pulling on him. So Klay pulls back,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cNo way that Klay should have been ejected. That was ridiculous.\u201d<\/span>
McDaniels and Thompson initially collided after a missed Minnesota shot<\/strong>, when the Wolves forward was going in for the rebound. McDaniels said he was \u201cjust trying to defend myself\u201d when Thompson grabbed at his collar.
There was some early aggression between the teams, but McDaniels did not anticipate the tension would boil over.
\u201cThere was some chitter-chatter going back and forth, but I wasn\u2019t taking it serious,\u201d McDaniels said. \u201cI was laughing. And then I guess it was just a bigger deal to him.\u201d
Thompson and Green were not available for comment after the game.
After the fracas began, Gobert said he got involved to \u201cde-escalate the situation.\u201d<\/strong> When Green grabbed him, Gobert threw up his hands to avoid making matters worse.
\u201cMy first thought was just, \u2018I\u2019m not going to fight. I need to be in this game to help my team,\u2019\u201d Gobert said. \u201cI 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\u2019t a good enough choke to put me to sleep.\u201d
Crew chief Tyler Ford told a pool reporter that\u00a0Gobert was considered a \u201cpeacemaker\u201d<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and thus was not ejected for his involvement.
NBA Referee Tyler Ford's comments to a pool reporter after the MIN-GSW game: https:\/\/t.co\/dHrRuhCv68<\/a>
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) November 15, 2023<\/a>