Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was ejected from their game against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night after checking Mark Williams in the air with his forearm as he was going up for a dunk.
Midway through the third quarter of the contest at the Target Center, Williams drove through the lane and started to rise up for what should have been an easy dunk. He had a clear path to the rim, as Gobert was well out of the way to his right.
But once Williams was in the air, Gobert stepped in and drilled him hard in the ribs with his forearm — which sent Williams flying off track and down to the court hard.
Gobert seemed to know that he had committed a foul, as he raised a finger up to take credit for it instantly. But officials upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2 due to significant contact to Williams’ ribs, which led to Gobert’s ejection.
Gobert had 15 points and eight rebounds when he left the game. The 33-year-old entered Monday night averaging 11 pionts and 10.2 rebounds per game this season, his 12th in the league. He’s in the first year of a new three-year, $109.5 million deal with the Timberwolves.
Williams stayed in the contest after initially remaining down on the floor shaken up after the foul, and he split his free throws. He threw down a dunk right after the second free throw, too, which put the Suns up by two points at the time.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
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