Myles Turner and Rudy Gobert nearly throw-hands in backcourt kerfuffle

Tensions were high in Salt Lake City on Thursday night, as Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert got into a backcourt kerfuffle in the final minutes of the game.

With Thursday night’s game between the Indiana Pacers and the Utah Jazz winding down, things were only heating up between their respective star big men in Myles Turner and Rudy Gobert.

Only minutes remained in the NBA game, but Turner and Gobert got into it in transition following a basket where Gobert appeared to pull Turner down to the hardwood. They were shoving each other in the backcourt before bear-hugging it and then the takedown. The benches cleared and four players were ejected from the ball game: Gobert, Turner, Joe Ingles and Donovan Mitchell.

Indiana would hand the Jazz their first home loss of the season, as the Pacers beat Utah, 111-100.

Myles Turner vs. Rudy Gobert fight: 4 players ejected in game’s final minutes

Tensions had been mounting throughout the game. While the officiating could have negated this sort of on-court aggression earlier, this is what happens when you let the players play. “I had to stand up for myself in that situation,” said Turner about the incident. “I don’t think I did anything wrong. But that’s not for me to decide. We’ll talk to the league and see what happens from there.”

Indiana improved to 5-8 on the season, while Utah fell to 8-4 on the year. Though the Pacers are among the worst teams in the Eastern Conference this season, it is still early in the campaign. However, getting a road victory in a tough place to play like Utah is no joke. While the Jazz remain one of the best teams out west, losing to an inferior team at home like Indiana is not a good look.

It will be interesting to see how the league addresses the incident that happened in Salt Lake City.