SAN FRANCISCO — When the NBA created the In-Season Tournament as a way to inject playoff-level intensity into regular-season games, the scuffle between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves that resulted in three early ejections on Tuesday night may not have been what the league had in mind.
With the game still scoreless and not yet two minutes old, Golden State’s Draymond Green was ejected after putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in a headlock. Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, who got into a shoving match that resulted in Thompson’s jersey being ripped, were also tossed.
Once the dust settled, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 33 points, sending Minnesota to a 104-101 tournament victory over Golden State. The Wolves have won seven straight games for their longest win streak since 2004.
“We just found a way to win ugly in a game that was pretty ugly,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “All credit to (the Warriors), those guys, they were super physical and took us out of our rhythm. But we found a way to win it and showed some toughness mentally.” AP