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1 year ago
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Draymond Green has received a five-game suspension after the Golden State Warriors power forward put Minnesota Timberwolves rival Rudy Gobert in a headlock on Tuesday night.
As tempers flared between Klay Thompson and Green's Warriors teammate Jaden McDaniels, the Golden State star could be seen grabbing the 7ft 1in Gobert around the head and dragging him away.
Not even two minutes into Tuesday night's game, Thompson and McDaniels became tangled up at half court before putting hands on each other to start the altercation.
Green then came flying in from several feet away and immediately put Gobert in a headlock before teammates intervened. All four players at the heart of the melee were ejected from the game in San Francisco.
And on Wednesday, the NBA confirmed that Green has been handed a five-game ban for his involvement in it.
Draymond Green was ejected for putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock as the Timberwolves faced the Warriors
For his involvement in the brawl between both teams, Green is being suspended for five games
The league said in a statement: 'Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been suspended five games without pay for escalating an on-court altercation and forcibly grabbing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert around the neck in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.
'The length of the suspension is based in part on Green's history of unsportsmanlike acts.'
It was also announced that Gobert, Thompson and Klay have all been fined $25,000 for their part in the incident.
Tuesday's brawl marked the first time in the last 25 seasons that multiple players were ejected from the game before either team scored a basket.
It is also the second time in the last three games that Green has been ejected, after he was also tossed from Saturday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with two technical fouls.
After being put in a headlock by Green, Gobert said his rival's antics were 'just clown behavior' on the night.
'It's kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph (Curry) is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected,' he said.
'Because every time Steph doesn't play, he doesn't want to play, it's his guy Steph. He'll do anything he can to get ejected.
'I'm proud of myself for being the bigger man again and again. And yeah, he doesn't even deserve me putting my hands on him. My team needed me tonight,' Gobert added.
A huge melee broke out in Tuesday night's game amid a bust-up between Jaden McDaniels and Klay Thompson
'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. Not much to say. It's clown behavior.'
This wasn't the first time Gobert and Green have traded verbal jabs during their careers.
In 2019, Green made fun of Gobert for crying over not getting selected to that season's All-Star game. Tuesday's headlock, meanwhile, led to the 18th ejection of Green's 12-season career.
According to Sportradar, Green has only been ejected 11 times in 652 career games with Curry in the Golden State lineup, or 1.6 per cent of the time.
Green has been ejected seven times in 115 games without Curry by his side, the equivalent of 6.1 per cent of games.
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