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By John Krawczynski, Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, forward Draymond Green and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels were ejected after a brawl broke out in the first quarter of Tuesday’s game.
Just 1:43 into the match, a scuffle broke out at midcourt between Thompson and McDaniels, in which both players grabbed each other’s jerseys. Moments later, Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert – who appeared to be attempting to break up the brawl – was grabbed by the neck by Green before players and coaches came forward to break it up.
Thompson, Green and McDaniels were sent out.
The Timberwolves won 104–101 over the Warriors. Minnesota improved to 8-2 while Golden State fell to 6-6.
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What really happened between Thompson and McDaniels?
Thompson was boxing out McDaniels in the right corner on one of the first possessions of the night. As part of this, Thompson was seen holding McDaniels’ jersey. McDaniels took exception. He grabbed Thompson’s jersey and began tugging at it, starting an awkward and lengthy tug-of-war between the two that turned into a huge dust-up. Thompson’s jersey was torn. After review both were thrown out. -Anthony Slater, Warriors Beat Writer
A melee broke out between the Warriors and T-Wolves in the first 1:43 of the game.
Draymond Green gave Rudy Gobert trouble.
@NBCSWarriors pic.twitter.com/p3yzj8Mvip
– The Athletic (@TheAthletic) 15 November 2023
What really happened between Green and Gobert?
As the confrontation between McDaniels and Thompson spilled over to the Warriors side of the court, Gobert charged in and grabbed Thompson from behind. This brought Green into contention and he put Gobert in a chokehold to pull him away from Thompson. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards caught up with Green and Gobert, and tempers continued to flare. When McDaniels was yelling at Thompson he needed to be restrained by teammates. – John Krawczynski, Timberwolves beat writer
Are there any long-term concerns for the Warriors?
are likely to be. I doubt Thompson and McDaniels will receive any additional discipline, but everyone knows the history between Green and the NBA. He also admitted after Domantas Sabonis’ first-round stomp that he had suspended Green one game partly because of his past. This will likely come back into the equation when they review the incident in the coming days. If they believe Green’s pressure on Gobert is excessive, he could face another suspension after two separate ejections this week. – Slater
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What losing McDaniels means for the Timberwolves
McDaniels is the Wolves’ best perimeter defender. Steph Curry sitting out has diminished his importance to this game a bit, but the Wolves will still miss the pressure they put on Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins. From a team perspective, the fighting early in the game certainly seemed to bother the Wolves. They struggled early on to settle the game, missing shots, turning the ball over and looking disorganized on defense, which played into the hands of the short-handed Warriors in the early going. – Krawczynski
How do the Warriors replace Green?
Green’s famous last altercation was with his own teammate. This caused him to lose some credibility in the locker room. How will this affect his place in the locker room since Thompson came to the rescue? Would this be seen as a good thing? The Warriors’ early season has been characterized by a good atmosphere, a sharp contrast to last year. Green said the chemistry was very bad last year.
Will this be a motivating force for the warriors? Or the latest incident where Green’s overreach cost the Warriors?
This creates a huge opportunity for Jonathan Kuminga. With Green out, the Warriors will have 30 minutes of action available in the front court. The Warriors desperately need one of their young players to make a leap, especially when length and athleticism are known to cause problems for the Warriors.
Another potential opportunity has arisen for Tracy Jackson-Davis, who the Warriors are very fond of. Green is essentially the Warriors’ back-up center. -Marcus Thompson II, senior columnist
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(Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
