Rudy Gobert punches teammate Kyle Anderson in Minnesota Timberwolves’ regular-season finale
The Minnesota Timberwolves benched center Rudy Gobert in an important regular-season finale after he threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Video shows Anderson and Gobert having a heated discussion during a timeout of the close game. As a Timberwolves staffer tried to hold Gobert back, he broke free and threw a punch at Anderson’s left shoulder.
“Rudy Gobert is OUT for the remainder of tonight’s game,” the Timberwolves tweeted shortly after the altercation.
Depending on the outcome of other Western Conference games, the Timberwolves entered Sunday’s game with a chance to finish as the seventh, eighth or ninth seed. They were headed for the play-in game tournament no matter what.
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The Timberwolves traded for Gobert in July, and there has been much scrutiny on the deal. The Timberwolves sent 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler and four future first-round picks to Utah in the deal. Karl-Anthony Towns missed a chunk of the season with an injury, and the Timberwolves struggled to mesh.