Thompson’s actions baffle McDaniels in Warriors-Timberwolves tussle

Thompson’s actions baffle McDaniels in Warriors-Timberwolves tussle originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Less than two minutes into the Warriors’ 104-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA In-Season Tournament on Tuesday, things got wild at Chase Center.

While Golden State veteran Draymond Green grabbed much of the attention during the skirmish by putting Minnesota center Rudy Gobert in a headlock, the incident began when Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and Warriors guard Klay Thompson got into it running down the court.

After the game, McDaniels told reporters his side of things and said he was surprised the scuffle escalated to such a point.

“I was just trying to crash for a rebound, and [Thompson] kind of had grabbed me by my collar and I was just trying to defend myself, get him off me a little bit, and the rest is what it is,” McDaniels said, adding that there had been some “chitter chatter” between himself and Thompson in the seconds leading up to the confrontation.

“I wasn’t taking it serious. I was laughing. And then I guess it was a bigger deal to him.”

McDaniels, Thompson and Green all were ejected after the fracas, but the Timberwolves forward believes it all started over some “joking.”

“[Thompson] missed a shot, we ran down the court, we probably said something back to each other,” McDaniels recalled. “To me, it wasn’t that serious. I was laughing and joking around. So, you know, some people take things differently. … I don’t know bruh at all. I just know he’s Klay Thompson.”

There’s no telling what Thompson and McDaniels said to each other after the Warriors guard missed a 3-point jump shot to open the game. But things certainly were chippy enough for chaos to ensue on the court.

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