NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Center:Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Jaden McDaniels ejected after Warriors-Timberwolves fight

The NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank CenterGolden State Warriors were already down Steph Curry for Tuesday's in-season tournament game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They quickly lost Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, too.

The Warriors and Timberwolves were involved in a dust-up just minutes into the tournament matchup at Chase Center in San Francisco, resulting in the ejection of Thompson, Green and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels.

The incident started when McDaniels and Thompson got tangled up at half-court with 10:17 remaining in the first quarter. McDaniels grabbed Thompson by the jersey and flung him toward the floor, ripping his uniform in the process. Thompson, who also had a handful of McDaniels' jersey, caught his balance and then attempted to drag McDaniels to the ground. A scuffle ensued and Green flew into the middle of the chaos and put Rudy Gobert into a headlock.

All parties were separated and Thompson, Green and McDaniels were subsequently ejected. All three players had no points when they hit the showers early. (In fact, neither team had scored yet when the scuffle took place.)

The Warriors were already down Curry, who is believed to have a sprain in his right knee. Chris Paul started in Curry's place and Thompson and Green were replaced by Brandin Podziemski and Kevon Looney, respectively.

"I thought the referees did a really good job of cleaning it up. I thought the ejections were the right ones; I thought they were warranted," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said after his team's 104-101 victory.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr disagreed.

"There's no way Klay Thompson should have been thrown out of the game," Kerr said. "...That was ridiculous. So I was upset about that."

Kerr did not contest Green's ejection, but said Green went after Gobert because Gobert had his hands on Thompson's neck.

Gobert, who finished with nine points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, called Green's actions "clown behavior," according to reporters who cover the Timberwolves.

Kerr, in one of the great understatements of this NBA season, summed things up succinctly: "A bizarre way to start the game," he said.