A vital win on the road for Orlando Magic against the Minnesota Timberwolves was overshadowed by a dramatic brawl which saw five players ejected from the court.
The clash descended into chaos following a flashpoint between Orlando centre Mo Bamba and Wolves guard Austin Rivers. Not only did the two players end up beings sent back to the locker rooms, but Magic guard Jalen Suggs and Timberwolves forwards Taurean Prince and Jaden McDaniels joined them.
The carnage kicked off when Rivers walked off the court toward players on the Magic sideline, prompting Bamba to get off and seemingly aim a punch in his direction. Some ugly grappling between the two duly followed, before players piled in from all corners.
Afterwards, Rivers did front up to the media, claiming that Bamba and Magic guard Markelle Fultz had mocked him following an earlier missed three pointer. "I'm not really gonna get into what he said. I'm not gonna snitch on the dude or whatever, but I just didn't like the way he was talking to me, for no reason, too," he said.
"I don't even know that dude, I don't know anything about him. Obviously I just know he's a player for the Magic. And he proceeded to talk, so that next possession when I went down there I just said, 'You know, just pretty much just keep it respectful, bro.' I'm not trying to portray myself as some wanna-be tough guy. That's not even my MO. But, for anybody who knows me, I'm not going to let somebody disrespect me or talk crazy."
Rivers added he was not a "thug," and Timberwolves coach Chris Finch refused to condemn his man insisting he was unaware of what started the trouble: "I'm not making any judgment on Austin, what he did. I have no idea what started it or what happened," he said.
"They had a guy come off the bench and throw a punch, which is one of the most egregious things you can do in the league right now, I mean, in these situations. But yeah, I make no judgment on Austin."
The NBA will now almost certainly impose further punishment on Rivers and Bamba. The latter, despite not appearing the instigator, clearly breached league rules by entering the court from the bench.
The incident overshadowed a 127-120 win for Orlando, following their back to back defeats against Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls. It remains to be seen if the other three ejected players have also landed themselves in hot water.
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