Four players were ejected late in the Indiana Pacers' 111-100 road win after Myles Turner and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert had to be separated following a blocked shot.
Things got heated between Myles Turner and Rudy Gobert after Turner blocked Gobert's shot. pic.twitter.com/O34Z7gckwC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 12, 2021
When the dust settled, Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles joined their Jazz teammate Gobert among those thrown out.
Turner, the lone Pacer ejected, told reporters postgame that he felt Gobert committed a "dirty play" against him.
"When (Gobert) pulled my shorts, I wasn't about to have that, so I had to stand up for myself in that situation," Turner said, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
For his part, Gobert expressed frustration with what he perceives as opponents putting on a tough front with him.
"Guys need to stop doing that shit," the towering Frenchman said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune's Eric Walden. "No one here is about that life."
The 29-year-old added that he didn't think the situation merited trading blows - despite his boxing coach being in attendance.
"If I don't feel threatened, I'm not gonna throw a punch," Gobert said. "And I didn't feel threatened. If someone wants to fight, I'm easy to reach."
Mitchell's appraisal of the situation was that the referees have become a source of tension.
"You have to draw the line, otherwise things are going to get out of hand," the fifth-year guard said, per The Athletic's Tony Jones. "The officiating is inconsistent and there's built-up frustration."
