Gobert says Green wanted ejection: Headlock was 'clown behavior'

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert asserted that Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green purposefully got ejected from Tuesday's matchup due to Stephen Curry's absence from the game.

"He doesn't want to play without his guy Steph so he does anything he can to get ejected," Gobert said after Minnesota's 104-101 win, according to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski.

Green put Gobert in a headlock as part of a scuffle that also resulted in Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and Warriors veteran Klay Thompson being tossed less than two minutes into the contest.

Gobert referenced Green's actions as "clown behavior" multiple times, according to ESPN's Kendra Andrews.

Curry was ruled out before the contest due to knee soreness and is considered day-to-day, according to The Associated Press.

Green grabbed Gobert around the neck when the French center said he attempted to "de-escalate the situation" between Thompson and McDaniels, according to Andrews. The league is looking into the incident with review expected to be completed before Thursday's game between the Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"My first thought was just, 'I'm not going to fight. I need to be in this game to help my team,'" said Gobert. "I just showed the ref that I had my hands up, and I just waited until the situation was over. Nothing more than that. It wasn't a good enough choke to put me to sleep."

"It was a long time, and if he knew how to choke it could have been way worse,” said Gobert, according to Krawczynski. “He tried to. His intention was to really take me out."

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Thompson shouldn't have been ejected and offered an explanation for Green's actions.

"There is no way Klay should have been ejected," said Kerr. "That was ridiculous. I was upset about that. As far as the Draymond piece of it, Rudy had his hands on Klay's neck. That's why Draymond went after Rudy."

When asked about Kerr's comments, Gobert said that Kerr was backing his player but is aware of his actions.

"Deep inside, he (doesn’t) want to say it but his guy is a clown," Gobert said.

The pair of Warriors were unavailable for comment after the game.

"I do hope that the league is going to do what needs to be done," Gobert said, according to Andrews.

Green was also ejected Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers for an incident with Donovan Mitchell.