Five players expelled after huge brawl in NBA

It was in the third period that the chaos was a fact.

Minnesota guard Austin Rivers got into an altercation with Orlando center Mo Bamba, who was sitting on the bench with his coverall on.

Moving images of the brawl in an external link on the NBA.

Their brawl then spilled over into brawls on the pitch as players, managers, referees and officials tried to stop it from escalating further.

After a longer break, the match could continue with heavily decimated personnel.

"Appreciate that the team sticks together"

- You obviously want your teammates back and at the same time you have to be a professional, Orlando's German player Moritz Wagner, who himself was ejected after brawling with Detroit Pistons players in December, told the AP.

It really didn't look good with so many people involved in the fight.

- You really don't want to be in those situations and it doesn't look good at all.

At the same time, there is something in me that appreciates that the team sticks together like that, says Wagner, who scored 19 points and contributed to Orlando's 127-120 win in Minneapolis.