NBA big man suspended for must-win Lakers showdown after punching teammate
NBA big man Rudy Gobert has been suspended for a must win showdown with the LA Lakers after he punched his teammate.
Star Minnesota Timberwolves centre Rudy Gobert has been suspended for one game following his dust-up with teammate Kyle Anderson in which he threw a punch at Anderson during a time-out.
Gobert will miss Minnesota’s play-in matchup against the Lakers on Wednesday (AEST), according to ESPN, who reported the suspension is from the team and not the NBA.
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The NY Post reports 30-year-old Gobert was involved in a heated scuffle with Anderson during the Timberwolves’ 113-108 win over the Pelicans on Monday.
Gobert, a three-time NBA All-Star, threw a punch at Anderson in the second quarter of the game, with Minnesota players immediately separating the two.
Anderson allegedly told Gobert to block shots while the latter implored Anderson to get a rebound, ESPN reported.
Tensions boiled over when Anderson told Gobert to “shut the f*** up, b***h.”
Gobert was sent home after the scuffle and issued an apology on Twitter.
“Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologise to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that I truly love and respect as a teammate,” he tweeted.
Though Gobert will miss Tuesday’s game, he is slated to return should the Timberwolves lose to the Lakers and partake in another play-in game, or advance to the postseason.
The winner of Tuesday’s contest between the Timberwolves and Lakers will face the No. 2 seed Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The Timberwolves will be shorthanded in more ways than one Tuesday.
Minnesota lost forward Jaden McDaniels for the remainder of the year after he fractured his right hand punching a wall in frustration during Sunday’s game.
This article originally appeared in the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.
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