Five players were ejected after a wild brawl during the Magic’s 127-120 win over the Timberwolves Friday night in Minnesota
Orlando big man Mo Bamba and Minnesota guard Austin Rivers exchanged punches during a third-quarter melee before other players rushed in and got involved. Referees eventually broke up the two sides. Both were among the ejections, in addition to the Wolves’ Taurean Prince and Jaden McDaniels and the Magic’s Jalen Suggs.
It’s unclear what sparked the incident. It appeared to escalate when Rivers was near Orlando’s bench while on the court, and Bamba appeared to come off the bench in oursuit of Rivers.
The Magic held an 83-73 lead at the time, and the game was temporarily paused to sort through the ejections.
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If this were an actual boxing match, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Rivers, the 7-foot, 230-pound Bamba would have had a distinct physical advantage in every way as well as being in a different weight class.
This wasn’t the first time these two teams have brawled. Five years ago, the two sides engaged in a similar melee, when Arron Affalo and Nemanja Bjelica traded punches in 2018.
