The Minnesota Timberwolves dismissed center Rudy Gobert midgame Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans after he threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a huddle.
“His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will continue handling the situation internally,” T-Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement postgame, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The incident took place with little over four minutes remaining in the second quarter. At halftime, there was further yelling heard from the Timberwolves’ locker room, according to Fox Sports’ Jennifer Hale.
According to Wojnarowski, the argument began with Anderson telling Gobert to block some shots, with Gobert responding by telling Anderson to get some rebounds.
Things then reportedly got physical when Anderson told Gobert, “Shut the f— up, b—-.”
Gobert took to Twitter to apologize for the incident later Sunday.
Minnesota also played the rest of the encounter without Jaden McDaniels, who was ruled out in bizarre fashion. The 22-year-old reportedly suffered a fractured hand after punching a wall at halftime.
Sunday’s contest had play-in implications for the Timberwolves as the win allowed the club to leapfrog the Pelicans for eighth in the West. Minnesota can advance to the first round of the playoffs by winning just one game in the play-in.
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