MINNEAPOLIS — Rudy Gobert rejoined the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday after a team-imposed suspension for their first play-in game, but lingering back trouble has compromised his status for the second one.

Gobert was dismissed from the arena Sunday after throwing a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson in an argument in the huddle during a timeout in the second quarter of Minnesota’s final regular-season game. The Wolves kept him home as punishment when they traveled to Los Angeles and lost 108-102 in overtime to the Lakers on Tuesday after blowing a 15-point lead.

Speaking to reporters Thursday for the first time since the public fight, Gobert said he probably wouldn’t have been healthy enough to play the Lakers anyway. He’s aiming to return Friday when the Wolves host Oklahoma City in their last chance to make the playoffs, but there’s no guarantee.

“Still pretty sore, still not moving like I would like to be able to move, but small progress every day,” said Gobert, the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner.

The Wolves said the air had long been cleared before Gobert rejoined them on the floor Thursday.

“We both apologized to each other and you move on. That’s life,” Gobert said. “It’s different when you have millions of people all watching videos and have an opinion on things that happened, but that we can’t control. What we can control is the respect that we have for each other and our relationship.”

BUCKS: Coach Mike Budenholzer says Khris Middleton practiced fully as the three-time All-Star works his way back from a sore right knee and prepares for the playoffs.

Middleton hasn’t played since the injury caused him to exit an April 5 victory over the Chicago Bulls. He missed 18 straight games due to right knee soreness from Dec. 17 through Jan. 21.

The injury is unrelated to the one that ended Middleton’s 2021-22 postseason early. He missed the Bucks’ final 10 playoff games last season due to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Budenholzer also said guards Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton practiced on a limited basis as they both recover from sprained right ankles. Allen missed the Bucks’ final four regular-season games and Connaughton was out the last three.

“You want to be as healthy as you can,” Budenholzer said. “With all those guys, I think practicing is one of the steps and then seeing how you feel the next day and seeing how your body responds and everything is almost as important. It was a good day collectively. It was a good day for each of those guys. We’ll see how they respond, how they feel and continue to get ready for Sunday.”

The Bucks had the NBA’s best regular-season record to guarantee themselves home-court advantage throughout their playoff run. They open their first-round series Sunday at home against either the Bulls or the Miami Heat, who will face each other in a play-in game Friday at Miami.

GRIZZLIES: Point guard Ja Morant has filed a countersuit against the Memphis teenager suing the two-time All-Star, accusing the teen of slander, battery and assault over a pickup basketball game at Morant’s home last July.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday night in Shelby County Circuit Court accuses Joshua Holloway, whose lawsuit was amended March 28 after he turned 18, of damaging Morant’s reputation and putting him at risk of losing millions of dollars both in his contract and in potential endorsement deals.

Morant declined to comment Thursday when asked about his countersuit after practice. The Grizzlies are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference preparing to host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers starting Sunday.

The guard signed a five-year, $193 million contract last July that includes a $38 million bonus for making the All-NBA team this season. The NBA suspended Morant eight games in March for “conduct detrimental to the league” for displaying a firearm at a suburban Denver club on March 4.

Morant’s countersuit notes the lawsuit was reported nationally despite being under seal until the amended version was filed March 28 and that the lawsuit potentially jeopardizes the guard’s relationships with sponsors including some “unconsummated deals in progress.”

In the countersuit, Morant also accuses the teen of lying to police, in the original lawsuit and then changing his story in the amended version.

Morant says in the countersuit he punched Holloway once after being hit in the face with a basketball during a July 26 pickup game at his home after the teen approached the Grizzlies guard with “balled up” fists.

Holloway’s attorneys did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press requesting comment on Morant’s countersuit.

Holloway’s amended lawsuit accuses “one or both” Morant and his friend Davonte Pack of punching him even after he went to the ground and that Morant pointed to a gun at his hip as the teen left. According to the teen’s lawsuit, Holloway’s mother called police when he arrived home that night.

“These statements were false, and Counter-Defendant had actual knowledge of their falsehood or had reckless disregard for the truth,” according to Morant’s countersuit.

The countersuit cites witnesses estimating the altercation lasted 10 seconds before Morant’s father escorted Holloway out as the Grizzlies’ guard stayed on the court. On his way out, the countersuit alleges Holloway yelled he would return to “light (Mr. Morant’s) house up like a firework show.”

Morant also says he later received a threat on Snapchat appearing to be from Holloway, prompting him and his family to report the teen’s threats to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department on Aug. 8. Eight witnesses filed affidavits, and the local district attorney declined to file any charges Oct. 27.

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