Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves left one of the most regrettable images in recent NBA history. Barely a minute had passed in the game and the Chase Center scoreboard still showed 0-0 when the game had to be stopped due to a brawl on the court between players from both teams that ended with three being sent off.
A scuffle between Jaden McDaniels and Klay Thompson caused a brawl in the center of the park, with pushing and grabbing, like the one carried out by Draymond Green. One of the Warriors stars grabbed Rudy Gobert by the neck and dragged him a few meters until teammates, referees and staff members from both franchises managed to separate them.
Green's aggression ended in expulsion, as did the initial protagonists of the fight, Thompson and McDaniels, both with their shirts torn by the grabs. The first game of the season between the Warriors and the Wolves had already been tense, further increased by the exchange of statements between Green and Anthony Edwards.
"Thompson and McDaniels were involved in an altercation that was not immediately dissolved and their actions required expulsion," the referees explained after the match according to the NBA pool. "Green aggressively put a headlock on Gobert and refused to let him go. This conduct is unnecessary and excessive, which meets the standard for a Type 2 flagrant foul," they added. Regarding Gobert, the referees interpreted that the French center tried to "separate" Thompson and McDaniels and for that reason he was not sanctioned.
These expulsions especially affected some Warriors who also did not have, in this case due to injury, Stephen Curry (due to knee discomfort still without a definitive diagnosis) and who, suddenly, saw how the other two vertices of their team also fell from the game. historic trio. Despite all these losses, Golden State came with options at the outcome of the duel but finally fell to the Wolves who have started the season at a high level.
Minnesota chained its seventh straight win (101-104) in a match that, in sports, highlighted Karl-Anthony Towns was the most outstanding with 33 points and 11 rebounds. For Steve Kerr's side, rookie Brandin Podziemski took a step forward with 23 points.
This match corresponded to the NBA In-Season Tournament, the tournament that the NBA has just launched and that experiments with the cup format. The Wolves are 2-0 while the Warriors are 1-1, both within Group C of the West.
