Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson get chippy on Timberwolves bench

The Minnesota Timberwolves entered Sunday afternoon’s contest with the New Orleans Pelicans with major playoff stakes on the line. The winner would give themselves a chance at the seventh or eighth seed in the West, while the loser would be stuck in ninth and have to win two games to make the playoffs.

Toward the end of the second quarter of action against the Pels, Minnesota encountered an unexpected turn of events. During a timeout, Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson were involved in a heated interaction that led to Gobert throwing a swift punch at Anderson. This led to players and coaches having to separate the two teammates.

Gobert and Anderson’s altercation does not bode well heading into the postseason.

In the video, it is clear that the two were discussing something about the game and apparently did not agree. After the punch, Gobert appeared to take several steps back, possibly realizing the mistake he had made. Anderson did not seem to want to escalate things.

Several minutes after the altercation, Shams Charania reported that the Timberwolves had sent Rudy Gobert home as a disciplinary action, and that he would not return to the game. The entire sequence was the last thing Wolves fans wanted to see at this point in the season.

Ironically, Gobert had recently spoken to a Minnesota reporter about Anderson’s ‘aggressive’ leadership style, saying that he does not take it personally and understands that it makes him better. It would certainly be hard to tell that was the case based on Sunday’s events. Timberwolves fans will now wait to see if a potential suspension comes as a result of Gobert’s ill-advised actions.