Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert savagely destroyed Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for choking him.
Timberwolves wing Jaden McDaniels and Warriors guard Klay Thompson got into an altercation and Gobert grabbed Thompson to break up the fight. That’s when Green stepped in and began to choke Gobert.
“He’s grabbing me, he’s grabbing me, he’s grabbing me,” Gobert told The Athletic. “(But) the choke wasn’t good enough. Yeah, it wasn’t enough for me to really have to (go to sleep). But he tried. He tried really hard, but it wasn’t good enough to where I felt like I was really in danger of falling asleep or something like that.”
Green held Gobert for about nine seconds before they got separated. Green, McDaniels and Thompson were ejected from the game.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors Updates
“It was a long time, and if he knew how to choke it could have been way worse,” Gobert said. “He tried to. His intention was to really take me out. And I kept my hands up the whole time just to show the officials that I wasn’t trying to escalate the situation.”
Gobert knew before the game that Green would try to get ejected because Stephen Curry wasn’t playing.
“It’s kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected,” Gobert said. “Because every time Steph doesn’t play, (Draymond) doesn’t want to play — it’s his guy Steph. He’ll do anything he can to get ejected.”
Gobert and Green don’t like each other. Green made fun of Gobert when the big man cried after not making an All-Star team when he was with the Utah Jazz. Gobert then poked fun at Green after Green punched Jordan Poole in the face last season. Green then returned the favor by bashing Gobert for getting into a fight with Kyle Anderson.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors Updates
“Clown behavior and I’m proud of myself for being the bigger man again and again,” Gobert said. “And yeah, (he) doesn’t even deserve me putting my hands on him. My team needed me tonight. I did whatever I could to keep my cool and then show that I wasn’t making the situation worse, and I do hope that the league is going to do what needs to be done because that’s just clown behavior.”
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