Draymond Green was one of three players ejected from the Golden State Warriors vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game on Tuesday night after getting into a fight with Rudy Gobert. Green was seen putting Gobert in a chokehold early in the first quarter after Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got tied up. Both players continued to grab each other while they moved down the court before they began swinging. That led to Gobert grabbing Thompson, which then led to Green putting him in a chokehold. Thompson and McDaniels were also ejected from the game.
“My first thought was just, ‘I’m not going to fight. I need to be in this game to help my team,’” Gobert said after the game, per ESPN. “I just showed the ref that I had my hands up, and I just waited until the situation was over. Nothing more than that. It wasn’t a good enough choke to put me to sleep.”
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“I was just trying to crash for a rebound and [Thompson] kind of grabbed my collar. I was just trying to defend myself and get him off me,” McDaniels said. “The rest is what it is. I knew before that there was some chitter-chatter going back and forth. I didn’t take it seriously. I was just laughing. I guess it was a bigger deal to him.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the game on Tuesday was the first in the past 25 seasons in which multiple players were ejected before either team scored. Warriors coach Steve Kerr shared his thoughts on the situation, saying “There is no way Klay should have been ejected. That was ridiculous. I was upset about that. As far as the Draymond piece of it, Rudy had his hands on Klay’s neck. That’s why Draymond went after Rudy.”
Chris Finch, the Timberwolves coach, did not have a problem with the three players being ejected. “I thought the ejections were the right ones,” he said. “I thought they were warranted. I thought (the refs) did a good job of getting control of the game from that point of view. The game was very physical, but it wasn’t a very dangerous and out-of-control game.” For Green, it’s his second ejection of the season as he was tossed against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. The Timberwolves won the game on Tuesday night 104-101.
