Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was described as a “clown” by the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert after being one of three players ejected in his team’s ill-tempered 104-101 defeat on Tuesday.
The Warriors entered the game on the back of three successive defeats and without two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, who injured his knee in Sunday’s 116-110 loss to Minnesota.
Things got worse for them less than two minutes into Tuesday’s rematch, with Green and team-mate Klay Thompson joining Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels in being dismissed for their roles in a scuffle.
After Thompson and McDaniels grabbed hold of each other’s shirts near the half-court line, Green put Wolves center Gobert in a chokehold which lasted for several seconds.
Gobert, who finished with a game-high 13 rebounds as well as adding nine points and two assists, hit out at Green after his team condemned the Warriors to another defeat.
“Every time Steph doesn’t play, [Green] doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph, so he does anything he can to get ejected,” Gobert said when asked about Green’s dismissal.
“It’s just clown behaviour. I’m proud of myself for being the bigger man, again and again. It doesn’t even deserve me putting my hands on him.
“My team needed me tonight, so I wanted to keep my cool and not make the situation worse. I do hope the league is going to do what needs to be done, because that’s just clown behaviour.
“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!”
West Standings update ‼️
The Timberwolves climb to the second spot after winning 7 straight!
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The ejections of Green and Thompson, coupled with Curry’s injury, left the Warriors without their three key players, and a valiant effort led by rookie Brandin Podziemski and center Dario Saric was not enough to end their slump.
Head coach Steve Kerr was exasperated by the decision to eject Thompson, 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.”
Now 6-6 for the campaign overall and 1-1 in the group stage of the in-season tournament, the Warriors return to action with a home double-header against the Oklahoma City Thunder later this week, welcoming them to Chase Center on Thursday and Saturday.
KAT took over in the Timberwolves’ win in Golden State
33 PTS (season-high)
11 REB
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