Punches thrown during massive Timberwolves-Magic brawl; Austin Rivers, Mo Bamba among five players ejected

Five players were ejected from Friday night’s game between the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves following an on-court altercation that began between Orlando center Mo Bamba and Wolves guard Austin Rivers. Both Bamba and Rivers were ejected from the game, along with Magic guard Jalen Suggs and Timberwolves forwards Taurean Prince and Jaden McDaniels.

The conflict appeared to begin when Rivers walked off the court toward players on the Magic sideline. Bamba then got up off the bench and threw what appeared to be punches toward Rivers as they stumbled onto the court. It looked like Rivers also threw punches in Bamba’s direction as he was dragged to the floor. Multiple players from both teams then engaged in the altercation, which resulted in the ejections.

While we cannot be certain as to what led to the altercation, it certainly appeared that Rivers was intent on confronting someone on the Magic sideline. You can see in the second angle here that, while the ball is in play, Rivers jogs off the court toward the Orlando bench.

Some have speculated that Rivers may have taken exception to the way that Bamba and Magic guard Markelle Fultz reacted to his missed 3-pointer on an earlier possession.

The altercation comes just one night after Dillon Brooks and Donovan Mitchell got into a dust-up during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 128-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. On Friday, Brooks was suspended one game for striking Mitchell in the groin, while Mitchell received a $20,000 fine for throwing the basketball at Brooks.

There will assuredly be further punishment for at least Rivers and Bamba, as Rivers appeared to be the instigator and Bamba broke NBA rules by entering the court from the bench. We will see which, if any, other players are levied fines and/or suspensions.