Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert owned up to the mistake that led to him being sent home on Sunday in the team's final regular season game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Gobert was seen punching teammate Kyle Anderson in the chest during a heated argument on the sideline during a timeout. Players and coaches had to separate the two players before Gobert was sent down the tunnel into the locker room and deemed out for the remainder of the game.
The Athletic reported that Gobert and Anderson got into it again in the locker room, leading the latter to say, "I'll knock your a-- out." Gobert was later sent home.
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Gobert spoke on the matter following the Timberwolves' 113-108 win that secured them the No. 8 seed heading into the NBA play-in tournament on Tuesday.
"Emotions got the best of me today," he wrote on Twitter. "I should not have reacted the way I did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that I truly love and respect as a teammate."
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Timberwolves veteran point guard Mike Conley also noted that Gobert sent a message to the team’s group chat to apologize.
"We’re not proud of that behavior by anybody," head coach Chris Finch said, via The Athletic. "We really haven’t dug too far into the root cause of it. But guys were just frustrated. We weren’t playing well and weren’t sharing the ball. We were getting beat in all the little areas."
Though the Timberwolves' win was crucial for their seeding in the play-in tournament, the scene with Gobert and Anderson took center stage on Sunday.
There was also another incident that is worse for the team, as rising star Jaden McDaniels' frustration led to him punching a wall down the tunnel. That lack of judgment led to a right-hand fracture that could have him out the rest of the season.
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All of this happening off the court for Minnesota doesn't help the team's focus on the next task at hand, which is the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers on the schedule for Tuedsay at Crypto.com Arena to determine who the true seventh seed in the Western Conference will be for the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The loser of that game will wait to face the winner of the No. 9 Pelicans and No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder matchup, which tips off Wednesday. That game, played on Thursday, will determine the No. 8 seed for the first round.
But it appears the Timberwolves are at least taking the necessary steps to rectify the Gobert-Anderson spat, starting with the former taking ownership of his actions and trying to patch up the open wound.
