What did Ruby Gobert do? Exploring incident which led to French player issuing apology on Twitter

Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson got into a heated exchange during a team huddle on Sunday, marring the Minnesota Timberwolves' pivotal 113-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on the final day of the regular season.

Anderson and Gobert first started shouting at each other before Gobert threw a punch at Anderson. The center did not connect fully. It was unknown what the two said. The two had to be separated, and Gobert was sent home from the game in New Orleans.

Gobert could still be available for a play-in tournament game against the LA Lakers on Tuesday but is listed as doubtful.

Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels punched a wall in frustration in an unrelated incident, hurting his right hand. No update has been given on his availability for the play-in game.

The comeback win allowed the Wolves (42-40) to finish eighth in the Western Conference. Because they won two of three games against the Pelicans (42-40), they won the tiebreaker. Minnesota will travel to LA to take on the Lakers (43-39) in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game.

The winner of that game will get the No. 7 seed. But the loser will still have another chance to make the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.

The Pelicans will have to win two games to earn the No. 8 seed.

Expand Tweet

What did Gobert say in his apology after the incident?

Gobert then issued an apology via Twitter after the game. He wrote:

"Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate."

Expand Tweet

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the following regarding the disagreement that preceded the punch from Gobert:

"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."

Expand Tweet

Karl Anthony-Towns and Anthony Edwards had big games after Gobert left to secure the win for Minnesota. Towns took advantage of favorable matchups and scored 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Edwards posted a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Minnesota takes on LA on Tuesday at 10 p.m. EDT. The game will air on TNT. The Lakers are -7 point favorites against the Wolves, with a total of 229.5.