The Minnesota Timberwolves picked up their seventh straight win on Tuesday night with an In-Season Tournament win over the Warriors to move to 8-2 on the season and 2-0 in group play.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way for the Wolves in the win, but the conversation after the game was about a scuffle that broke out less than two minutes into the game that saw Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Jaden McDaniels all get ejected. Thompson and McDaniels were tossed for a lengthy tug of war, as the two refused to let go of the other’s jersey, while Green was ejected for throwing Rudy Gobert in a sleeper hold.
That didn’t take long.
#RaisedByWolves pic.twitter.com/V5Ebh7UYxr
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) November 15, 2023
It was a wild scene and after the game there were plenty of reactions. Steve Kerr thought Thompson’s ejection was ridiculous and also tried to justify Green’s headlock by saying Gobert had Klay around the neck first.
Steve Kerr: “There is no way Klay should have been ejected. That’s ridiculous … as far as the Draymond part , Rudy had his hands on Klay’s neck. That’s why Draymond went after Rudy.”
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) November 15, 2023
The official pool report from the NBA officials explained the ejections as Thompson and McDaniels had an extended back-and-forth that earned ejections while Green got a Flagrant 2 for theexcessive and unnecessary headlock. They also noted they viewed Gobert as a peacemaker, which Warriors fans certainly weren’t pleased with, but there was a important distinction that Rudy had is arm across Klay’s chest and not wrapped under the chin, whereas Green held Rudy in a sleeper for five seconds.
From there, Gobert went off on Green, calling his headlock “clown behavior” and then dug in a bit further by saying he wasn’t surprised Green crossed the line, noting he knew from the moment Steph Curry was ruled out for the game with a knee injury, Draymond would try to get tossed because he doesn’t like playing with Steph.
Rudy Gobert called Draymond Green’s headlock “clown behavior” three times when asked about it in the locker room
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 15, 2023
Gobert on Draymond: “Every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph so he does anything he can to get ejected.”
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) November 15, 2023
That last quote is the kind of spice we like to see, and it has to sting Draymond that not only did the Warriors lose after he got tossed but Rudy got a good jab in with the media afterwards. Gobert wasn’t alone in that feeling, as you can see from the timestamp on this tweet from over an hour before tipoff.
Steph out? There’s about a 75% chance dryamond finds a way to get ejected tonight
—
. (@MasterSage_) November 15, 2023
Unfortunately we won’t see these two teams play again until the end of the season, as their last meeting is March 24 in Minnesota, but the In-Season Tournament has already delivered some high drama and intensity in the middle of November.