Explosive Start Ignites Warriors vs. Timberwolves Showdown

The first game of the in-season tournament started with a bang for the warriors, and not in a good way. In the very beginning of their matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, both Thompson and Green were ejected from the game. This is the first time in 25 NBA seasons that multiple players have been ejected before either team had scored. 

Photo by Jed Jacobsohn

The altercation mainly happened between Timberwolves players Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert and Warriors Players Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. The altercation started with McDaniels grabbing Thompson’s jersey in the backcourt while waiting for a long rebound. The two of them latched onto each other and began to thrash around and swing on each other. Green quickly got involved, putting Gobert in a headlock. The fight was quickly broken up by players and refs quickly after it started, but resulted in the two Warriors players and McDaniels being ejected. 

With Curry being out of the game due to an injury, the game was expected to be fiery, Draymond having a track record of playing even more aggressively when Curry’s out of the game. Gobert commented on the altercation saying that Draymond “Doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph, so he does anything he can do to get ejected”. 

Photo by Ezra Shaw

The fight between the players resulted in both Thompson and McDaniels getting two technical fouls each and Green a flagrant foul. 

Without three of their key players, Curry, Green and Thompson, the Warriors finished the game as best they could, barely losing 104-101.