When It Comes to Leaving Court, Rider Listens Only to His Mother

Isaiah Rider’s ejection from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 104-96 loss to the Utah Jazz Sunday took a bizarre turn when his mother walked onto the court.

Rider, ejected by referee Ken Mauer with 1:43 left in the first half, stayed on the court while teammates tried to calm him. As he continued to try to get close to Mauer, Minnesota teammate Doug West tried to coax him to the exit.

Finally, Rider’s mother, who was sitting courtside, walked onto the court, talking to Rider from a distance. She made it halfway across the court before Rider turned and left.

“It looked like she was trying to get [him] to leave the court,” West said. “It’s family, man. He was lucky it was just his mom.”

Rider picked up his second technical foul, an automatic ejection, after being fouled hard by Karl Malone. The two jawed at each other briefly, and then it continued as Rider shot his free throws.