Watch: Rudy Gobert punches Kyle Anderson, gets sent home by Minnesota Timberwolves

Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson were involved in a scuffle on Sunday as the Minnesota Timberwolves took on the New Orleans Pelicans. The two teams were battling for a top-eight seed and the opportunity to play in the play-in tournament game between the seventh and eighth seed, allowing teams two opportunities to win one game to qualify for the postseason.

Gobert and Anderson were seen arguing on the Timberwolves bench before the three-time Defensive Player of the Year was seen throwing a punch at his teammate. Anderson attempted to retaliate and had to be restrained by multiple teammates and Timberwolves staff members.

Check out footage of Rudy Gobert punching Kyle Anderson below:

Bleacher Report

@BleacherReport

Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert had to be held back after Gobert swung at Anderson in HEATED exchange

10204

1191

Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert had to be held back after Gobert swung at Anderson in HEATED exchange 😳 https://t.co/jvB9xawHNn

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported more on the incident, stating:

"ESPN Sources: Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert escalated a verbal argument to a physical encounter after Kyle Anderson told him to “Shut the f--- up, bitch.” The disagreement started with Anderson telling Gobert to block some shots, Gobert telling him to grab a rebound – and ended with a punch and Gobert getting sent home."

Adrian Wojnarowski

@wojespn

ESPN Sources: Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert escalated a verbal argument to a physical encounter after Kyle Anderson told him to “Shut the f--- up, bitch.” The disagreement started with Anderson telling Gobert to block some shots, Gobert telling him to grab a rebound – and ended with a… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

18518

2424

ESPN Sources: Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert escalated a verbal argument to a physical encounter after Kyle Anderson told him to “Shut the f--- up, bitch.” The disagreement started with Anderson telling Gobert to block some shots, Gobert telling him to grab a rebound – and ended with a… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Minnesota was trailing 48-36 in the second quarter at the time of the incident. They rallied back to win the game by a score of 113-108 to clinch the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

The Timberwolves will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers with the seventh seed on the line. The Pelicans will host the Oklahoma City Thunder for the chance to face the loser of that matchup and clinch the eighth seed.

It is unclear if the team or league will suspend Gobert. However, his loss would be big, particularly with Jaden McDaniels likely out after fracturing his hand punching a wall on Sunday.

How have Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson performed this season?

Rudy Gobert has averaged 13.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 65.9% from the field. Gobert made the All-Star team his final three seasons as a Utah Jazz, however, he failed to make the team in his first year with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He will likely, however, be named to one of the two All-Defensive Teams for the seventh consecutive year. He has made the First Team every year from 2017 through 2022.

Kyle Anderson has averaged 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. He has shot 50.8% from the field, 41.3% from 3-point range and 73.5% from the free-throw line.

​