It may only be November, but emotions are already flying pretty high in Utah.
Late into the fourth quarter of the Jazz’s 111-100 loss to the Pacers on Thursday, Myles Turner completed a particularly nasty block on star big man Rudy Gobert and must have had said something to him after the play.
Shortly thereafter, Gobert made his discontent known, which started a pretty heated altercation that has since gone viral online.
YO WHAT JUST HAPPENED 😧
(via @BallySportsIN)
— Overtime (@overtime) November 12, 2021
Myles Turner vs. Rudy Gobert. 👀
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 12, 2021
The details on what, exactly, stated the fight aren’t perfectly clear, but booth players ended up getting ejected from the game.
Gobert grabbed Turner in what might be described as an aggressive hug before the two big men were separated.
“That ignited our determination even more to finish strong,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
“Neither one really wants to fight quite frankly,” Pacers Quinn Buckner said on the broadcast.
Strangely enough, this isn’t the first time things have gotten overly heated this season.
Just recently, Nikola Jokic and Markieff Morris got into it, which has sparked a rivalry between two NBA families.
Jokic and Markieff Morris both got ejected after exchanging fouls during Nuggets-Heat.
Morris was hurt but walked off the floor under his own power. https://t.co/ReXnjRTHzu
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 9, 2021
For some reason, this season seems to be experiencing an uptick in heated/violent behavior between players. While many fans enjoy the heightened emotions, it’s certainly interesting to wonder why there have been so many altercations this year.
Whatever the case, this season has certainly been entertaining — for various reasons.
For Turner and the Pacers, they’re just trying to stay in striking distance in the East, which is proving difficult in the absence of a true, top-tier star.
For Gobert and the Jazz, they were first in the West until recently, and are now 8-4 on the season.
Both teams still have a lot to prove, and their futures remain uncertain at this time.
For now, all we can do is watch and see what they do, and hope that Turner and Gobert will play nice next time.
