Minnesota Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica was at the wrong end of an actual fight during Tuesday's matchup with the Orlando Magic.
The hot-shooting forward nearly avoided a haymaker from forward Arron Afflalo after attempting to box him out of rebounding position. Bjelica maintained that he was just trying to protect himself by catching Arron on a loose headlock to prevent any further wild swings.
so Arron Afflalo and Nemanja Bjelica get into a scrap 😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/xTfxxmTqMW
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) January 17, 2018
“I don't want to feel like a victim here, that's part of the game,” Bjelica said, according to ESPN. “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 I have to protect myself and my family.”
Just a day after a very heated Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate of games with plenty of confrontations — Tuesday, the day that followed — had an actual fight about to break out and Bjelica was a hair away from being decapitated and ending up in the Nikola Mirotic school of head injuries reserve.
Afflalo has been known to lose his temper before, and despite the four-inch disparity between the two forward, a closed fist with such windup can leave serious repercussions.
The Magic veteran forward was not available for comment following the game, as both players were ejected with 7:58 left in the second quarter for fighting when the game was still underway.
The league is reviewing this and is expected to dole out the consequential punishment at some point today.
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