Clippers teammates go at it in heated sideline spat

A heated confrontation on the Clippers bench led one teammate to push another in Los Angeles’ pivotal victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

The Clippers secured the fifth seed in the upcoming Western Conference playoffs with the 119-114 win, but all of that seemed unlikely as tension between Clippers teammates Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland erupted for the fourth quarter.

Plumlee confronted Hyland after the third frame, prompting the 6-foot-2 guard to push the 7-foot center.

Clippers teammates Terance Mann and Norman Powell separated the two with the help of assistant coach and former NBA guard Dahntay Jones.

Surprisingly, the confrontation led to a Clippers run and Los Angeles overscored the Suns 37-28 in the fourth frame. Afterwards, head coach Tyronn Lue said the pair ironed things out, even crediting their finery for the improved fourth quarter.

Bones Hyland (left) and Mason Plumlee (right) are said to have resolved their differences

“They fixed it,” Lue told reporters, as quoted by ESPN. ‘That’s no problem. Everything is good.

“It’s a big game, so if it’s not right, do something to fix it,” added Lue. “And after that little skirmish, we took off and played a lot better. So maybe we should do that more often.’

Interestingly, Plumlee scored within a minute on a Hyland assist.

He finished with nine points and four rebounds, while posting a game-high +12 rating.

Meanwhile, Hyland had 11 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists on the day.

The two teams meet again in their playoff opener in Phoenix on Sunday.

Plumlee confronted Hyland, prompting the 6-foot-2 guard to push the 7-foot center

Jaden McDaniels lost his temper when he slammed into a wall through the tunnel during a match on Sunday

The blow knocked him out of the Minnesota Timberwolves game against the New Orleans Pelicans

Remarkably, the Clippers’ tiff wasn’t the only self-inflicted wound for NBA teams on Sunday.

Rudy Gobert threw a punch to teammate Kyle Anderson late in the second quarter of Sunday’s crucial victory over New Orleans. He was sent home for the day, but only after top defender Jaden McDaniels hurt his right hand by hitting a wall in frustration.

“We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the second quarter incident,” Timberwolves president Tim Connelly said in a post-game statement. “His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will continue to address the situation internally.”

There seemed to be rapid progress on that front, with Wolves veteran Mike Conley suggesting the team is ready to move on.

“We’re going to need all of us,” Conley said.

Gobert also chimed in on Sunday night, tweeting, “Emotions got the better of me today. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did regardless of what was said. I want to apologize to the fans, the organization (sic) and especially to Kyle, someone I really love and respect as a teammate.”

If the Timberwolves lost that game, they would have been the number 9 from the west. There were 16 possible ways the 5-6-7-8-9 seeds could have gone on Sunday’s West disc — and the Pelicans had a shot at finishing as high as No. 5. Instead, they settled for No. 9.

Rudy Gobert lashed out at his Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Kyle Anderson in timeout