Another day, another altercation. Tuesday night's game between the Orlando Magic and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves became the latest addition to the season's already long list of heated encounters, and it's probably the most intense yet. Unlike most of the “fights” that happened in the past week or so, this one involving Arron Afflalo and Nemanja Bjelica had real action.
What started as a routine box-out by Afflalo on Bjelica suddenly escalated into a scuffle that saw the Magic guard throw a haymaker and the Timberwolves forward retaliate with a headlock. Both were ejected midway in the second quarter.
While it is entertaining to see high levels of intensity clash on the court, it still looks ugly when such professionals become violent towards each other, especially when it's that sudden. The contact that happened before they got physical was normal, and it's a mystery why Afflalo got ticked-off by that much that quickly.
Whatever it may be, Bjelica is just as confused as the rest of us. He shared his thoughts about the incident on Fox Sports North, including why pulled out some grappling moves:




#Twolves' Bjelica on ejection, scuffle with Orlando's Afflalo:
"I was just trying to protect myself and to help him, to calm him down." pic.twitter.com/1BYP9ZrBYB
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) January 17, 2018
“I don't want to feel like a victim here, that's part of the game,”
“But he took a swing at me, and I was just trying to protect myself, first of all, and to calm him down because he was wild. I don’t know what’s wrong with that guy but at that point, if you attack me like that, I just have to protect myself.“
As the cool, calm, and collected player that he is, who's never been in an altercation in his three-year NBA career, Bjelica also used the interview to apologize to his coaches and teammates for the unfortunate incident.