Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jeff Teague was ejected Friday after he hip-checked Utah Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio in a tense game that featured three ejections and five technical fouls.
Teague was chasing Rubio down the court in the fourth quarter when he lowered his shoulder and bumped Rubio into the Minnesota bench. He was called for a flagrant foul 2 and tossed with 5 minutes, 20 seconds left in the Jazz's eventual 116-108 victory..
After Teague left the court, Jazz guard Jae Crowder and Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau were issued double technicals for arguing with each other. Crowder was later ejected for picking up his second technical foul with 45.3 seconds remaining.
Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns was also ejected -- just before halftime, when he was called for his second technical foul for arguing a non-call.
Referee Kane Fitzgerald said after the game that Towns' first technical foul was for dead-ball contact of an elbow to Crowder's face. The second technical was for "continuous complaint. Three or four plays in a row he was complaining, and a technical foul was given."
When asked whether he thought Towns' fouls were justified, Thibodeau only said: "Let's just say I was very disappointed in the way the game was managed."
Timberwolves forward Jimmy Butler, who is sidelined due to surgery on his right knee, approved of Teague's fiery play.
haven't used Twitter in years. But yeah Jeff that's what I like to see. Rubio getting up quick for no reason.
— Jimmy Butler (@JimmyButler) March 3, 2018
Butler, who had not tweeted since December 2016 before Friday night, then called out Crowder for jawing at Thibodeau.
Jae get away from my coach. You don't want no smoke either
— Jimmy Butler (@JimmyButler) March 3, 2018
That tweet prompted a response from Crowder.
I DONT TWITTER BEEF ILL LEAVE THAT TO U.. BUT U GOT MY PHONE NUMBER AND KNOW MY HOME ADDRESS..!! THE REST CAN BE HISTORY 😈😈 https://t.co/FGDRYnYyg5
— JAE CROWDER (@CJC9BOSS) March 3, 2018
Asked about the Twitter exchange in the locker room after the game, Crowder just smiled and shrugged it off.
"He is a competitor, he's a trash-talker, he is all of the above," Crowder said of Butler, his former college teammate at Marquette.
"He wishes he was out there competing in a game like that, that's what [is] probably eating him up the most, he wishes he was on the court, fighting with his guys ... that's my guy," said Crowder.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.