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An ugly brawl just happened between the Orlando Magic vs Minnesota Timberwolves game, which saw five players getting ejected. Minnesota’s Austin Rivers and Orlando’s Mo Bamba were at the center of the dustup with roughly over a minute left in the third quarter.
The Orlando Magic’s Mo Bamba and Jalen Suggs were ejected out of the game along with the Minnesota Timberwolves' Austin Rivers, Taurean Prince and Jaden McDaniels.
Austin Rivers, who was standing in front of Mo Bamba near the Magic bench, heatedly said something to the young center. Bamba promptly stood up to confront Rivers before bear-hugging him. Rivers retaliated by throwing a couple of punches.
Jalen Suggs, Bamba’s teammate, ran from the free throw line to headlock Rivers and threw him to the ground. Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince tried to break up the melee when he was also flung near the post.
Minutes before the brawl happened, Austin Rivers badly missed a three-point shot in front of the Orlando Magic bench. Mo Bamba and teammate Markelle Fultz could be seen poking fun at Rivers for the miss. It must have been what triggered the entire melee.
Rivers played just 10 minutes tonight, missing both of his field-goal attempts, including the aforementioned three-point shot. Bamba, on the other hand, saw action for 21 minutes and finished with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
After a big first half, the Minnesota Timberwolves struggled badly in the second and third quarters and were outscored by the Magic 63-41 during that span. Bamba was a crucial part of that run, bridging the two periods.
The Timberwolves, minus Rivers, Prince and McDaniels, tried to bounce back with a big fourth quarter but couldn’t do enough to get the win. Orlando’s bench players were huge for the team tonight on the road.
Cole Anthony finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Mo Wagner, who took over Mo Bamba’s slot in the middle, added 19 points. Orlando’s bench dropped 72 while Minnesota’s role players could only cough up 49 points.
Fans react to the melee involving the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves players
Basketball fans, who were probably expecting a simple basketball battle between the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves, got a huge boost of excitement. The unexpected brawl led many to promptly send their reactions on Twitter.
One had a piece of very sound advice for Mo Bamba as Rivers connected on a few inside shots:
“Mo has the reach advantage but, he needs to keep his distance to get into the later rounds.”
Fortunately, it didn’t get into the later rounds as the fight was eventually stopped.
This one is a little below the belt but quite true. The Orlando Magic center will have a hard time coming back from this:
“Ig besides the Song that’s the highlight of Mo Bambas career lmao”
Some fans have noticed that the NBA has offered more “action” this season compared to the past.
“It was getting boring….some nuts needed kicking….”
NBA basketball has supposedly gone “soft” over the past decade. Tonight, the Orlando Magic and the Minnesota Timberwolves brought back memories of the rough and tumble days of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
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Guess the Lakers players!
