Frustrations on Display for Timberwolves, Clippers Amid Battle for Seeding in the Western Conference

Tempers flare for multiple Western Conference playoff contenders originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

The NBA wrapped up the regular season on Sunday but not without its fair share of intra-team chippiness around the Western Conference. 

In Minnesota, the Timberwolves clinched the No. 8 seed in the play-in tournament, despite visible frustration and questions of team chemistry during Sunday’s decisive regular-season finale.

Playing at home against the New Orleans Pelicans — with play-in seeding on the line — the Timberwolves had two players ruled out mid-game for actions outside of play.

During a second-quarter timeout in response to a 7-0 run by the Pelicans, center Rudy Gobert was caught in a heated exchange with forward Kyle Anderson. Gobert eventually lunged across the huddle and shoved Anderson, who had to be held back by teammates. Meanwhile, guard Taurean Prince pushed Gobert back, although it’s unclear if it was in defense of Anderson or just an attempt to put distance between the two.

The team announced that Gobert would remain out for the remainder of the game heading into the second half and The Athletic’s Sham’s Charania reported he had been sent home. 

Tim Connelly, President of Basketball Operations for the Timberwolves, later released a statement confirming the decision to send Gobert home for “unacceptable” behavior and said the situation would be handled internally.

Shortly after Gobert’s dismissal, Minnesota declared Jaden McDaniels out with a right hand injury.

The third-year forward punched a wall heading into the tunnel and was seen icing it on the bench.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski later reported that McDaniels fractured his hand. 

Over in Phoenix, Clippers teammates had to separate Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland. The two were seen yelling at one another between the third and fourth quarters. 

In-fighting and unnecessary injuries aside, both the Timberwolves and Clippers rallied to pull out five-point victories. 

This win leapfrogged Minnesota past the Pelicans for the No. 8 seed, guaranteeing them two games in the play-in tournament. Similarly, beating the Suns guaranteed the Clippers the No. 5 seed. 

At the center of all this seed shuffling was the Golden State Warriors. The reigning NBA champions entered Sunday with the possibility of finishing anywhere from fifth to eighth in the Western Conference standings. Luckily for Steve Kerr’s team, — who lost the tiebreaker to both the Pelicans and Lakers — they routed the Portland Timberwolves 157-101 to lock up the No. 6 seed and avoid the play-in tournament.

With the conclusion of Sunday’s game, the playoff picture is officially complete. The Clippers will rematch against the No. 4 Suns in the first round. Golden State will stick around northern California to play the No. 3 Sacramento Kings. The Lakers and Timberwolves will play in the higher-seeded play-in matchup, while the Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder will face off for the No. 9-No.10 matchup, needing two wins to advance to the playoffs.