Andrew LopezESPN5:02 PM ET2 Minute Read
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert swung teammate Kyle Anderson during a second-quarter timeout and was escorted to the locker room during Sunday afternoon’s 113-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Shortly after halftime, the Timberwolves announced that Gobert would be out for the rest of the game.
Video of the incident showed Gobert and Anderson talking to each other while standing on opposite ends of the Timberwolves group. The two continued exchanging words until Anderson said something that offended Gobert. Gobert stepped over Timberwolves trainer Chris Finch and then lashed out at Anderson, seemingly hitting him in the chest.
Teammates went to separate the two including Taurean Prince who pushed Gobert back. Gobert was then escorted to the back and some teammates, including Austin Rivers, went to check on him while he was at the back.
“We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home following the incident in the second quarter,” said Tim Connelly, president of basketball operations for the Timberwolves, in a statement after the game. “His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will deal with the situation internally.”
The incident happened during a time-out with 4:23 in the second quarter and Wolves 12 behind. Gobert was substituted out of the game at that moment and Anderson took his place on the court.
The Timberwolves also lost forward Jaden McDaniels late in the first quarter because he broke his right hand, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Video showed McDaniels hitting a wall as he entered the tunnel, although it’s unclear if that caused the injury.
Sunday’s win put the Timberwolves in 8th place in the Western Conference. They will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the play-in, with the winner going on to play the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. The loser plays the winner of the second play-in matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the right to play the No. 1-seeded Denver Nuggets.