WATCH: Magic's Arron Afflalo throws haymaker at T-wolves' Nemanja Bjelica

Tom Gatto

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WATCH: Magic's Arron Afflalo throws haymaker at T-wolves' Nemanja Bjelica image

The Magic's Arron Afflalo tried to knock the Timberwolves' Nemanja Bjelica back to Minnesota on Tuesday night.

 Afflalo uncorked a haymaker toward Bjelica's head in seeming frustration. Bjelica responded by putting Afflalo in a headlock.

Both players were given technical fouls, the second for each, and ejected. The two were T'd up after an earlier skirmish.

MORE: The most absurd details of Rockets-Clippers locker room incident

Afflalo's punch was the second such incident involving NBA players in a week. The Heat's James Johnson and the Raptors' Serge Ibaka threw hands last week in Toronto. The league suspended both men for a game without pay.

There were also highly publicized incidents Monday involving the Raptors' Kyle Lowry and the 76ers' Ben Simmons, and the Rockets' Trevor Ariza and Clippers players Blake Griffin and Austin Rivers.

UPDATE: Afflalo did not speak to reporters after the game. Bjelica said he tried to calm his "wild" adversary before engaging.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with that guy, but at that point I have to protect myself and my family,” he told reporters, per The Associated Press.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.