The Detroit Pistons were able to continue rolling Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, winning their 10th in their past 12 games and remaining in the sixth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But the victory wasn’t without fireworks, courtesy of Andre Drummond and the Timberwolves’ Taj Gibson.
While trying to box out Drummond, Gibson landed an elbow right to Drummond’s neck that sent the big man flying to the floor. Almost immediately after, an extremely heated Drummond leaped up and tried to get at Gibson. Drummond had to be restrained by several teammates, an official and a security officer, while Gibson was also restrained by his teammates.
The officials then reviewed the play and assessed a Flagrant-2 foul to Gibson and ejected him; Gibson then jogged to the Timberwolves locker room. While that was happening, Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders was given a technical foul for arguing the call.
Afterwards, Gibson said he wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt Drummond, and was just trying to play tough defense.
“I was just trying to box him out,” Gibson said, via Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I wasn’t purposefully trying to hurt him. At first, I didn’t know he got up. He just came at me.
“I was going to try to help him up, but then his energy, I just didn’t like how his energy was after I tried to box him out.”
“It’s part of the game,” Drummond said, via the Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis. “My reaction speaks for itself. I tried to play through it. Can’t do anything about it.”
Drummond finished the game with 31 points and 15 rebounds, including a triple at the end of the first quarter.
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