Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taj Gibson didn't hold anything back against the Utah Jazz, which meant that his teammates had to intervene.
Gibson lost his cool in the finale of a heated battle on Friday night when he rose up for a block on Jazz forward Joe Ingles who went for a quick layup.
On a play in the third quarter that concluded with a questionable foul call, at least by Gibson's standards, the 33-year-old veteran picked up two technical fouls, and an escorted trip to the locker room, after he sent an ill-advised gesture toward an official.
The Jazz pulled way ahead once Gibson made his abrupt exit after putting up eight points and four rebounds, shooting just 3-of-5 from the field.
The team scored enough to go up by 23 points shortly after and made it implausible to recover for the Timberwolves.
Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 24 points and 11 assists. Rudy Gobert finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Kyle Korver added 16 points off the bench.
Even with the late lead, the Jazz lost their touch, going 5-of-28 in the fourth quarter.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 33 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 12-of-19 from the field. Andrew Wiggins added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Jerryd Bayless finished with 11 points.
Minnesota falls deeper out of Western Conference playoff contention with the loss at 24-25, but get a necessary rematch against the Jazz on Sunday night.
Taj Gibson is averaging 10.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, while continuing to shoot a career-best 56.4 percentage from the field.
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