Although the 2017-18 NBA season is just halfway through, it has already seen its fair share scuffles both on and off the court. The most recent example came during Tuesday night's matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic.

Both teams had been trading buckets midway through the second quarter when things when the game suddenly turned into UFC fight between Magic shooting guard Aaron Afflalo and Timberwolves power forward Nemanja Bjelica via Slam Magazine:

Just when NBA fans thought the events from Monday night's confrontation between the L.A. Clippers and Houston Rockets could not be topped, the Magic and Timberwolves somehow managed to take it a step further. It had been a tightly-contested battle up to that point. In the video, it is clear the two had made plenty of contact on the shot attempt from shooting guard Jamal Crawford.

Afflalo clearly took exception to the contact by winding up a haymaker to throw at Bjelica's head. Unfortunately, his attack was extremely predictable as the native Yugoslavian managed to roll the punch off his shoulder while subsequently getting Afflalo into a standing guillotine choke.

Needless to say, the NBA will likely come down with a swift punishment on both of the players in the near future. The league has now had to deal with a number of confrontations that have gotten out of hand this season. If they are to discourage any further instances of such behavior, they will need to make an example out of the recent slew of players that have committed such acts both on and off the court.