Minnesota's Gobert suspended 1 game after punching teammate

LOS ANGELES – The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) suspended Rudy Gobert for one game for punching a teammate, ruling him out of the team's play-in clash with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Minnesota said in a statement Gobert would not travel to Los Angeles for Tuesday's clash with the Lakers, where the winner will secure a postseason berth.

"The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has suspended center Rudy Gobert for one game following yesterday's incident," the Timberwolves said in a statement.

Gobert was benched by the Timberwolves on Sunday during the team's roller-coaster 113-108 defeat of New Orleans after a stunning incident in the second quarter where he aimed a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson.

Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert had to be held back after Gobert swung at Anderson in HEATED exchange ???? pic.twitter.com/jvB9xawHNn

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 9, 2023

The players were forcibly separated by other Timberwolves players. Gobert was pulled from the game following the clash.

The French center later apologised for the incident on Twitter, saying that "emotions got the best of me".

"I should not have reacted the way I did regardless of what was said," Gobert wrote.

"I wanna apologize to the fans, the organization and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that I truly love and respect as a teammate."