Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun dunked hard on Rudy Gobert, then celebrated in the face of Rudy Gobert. It led to some hard feelings in a rematch of a seven-game series from last year’s playoffs.
In the fourth quarter of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 119-116 win over the Nuggets on Friday, Braun found a lane to the basket that took him right by the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. That is usually a recipe for offensive disaster, but Braun muscled his way through for a thunderous, two-handed dunk that triggered audible gasps from the Target Center crowd.
Braun proceeded to celebrate by screaming and walking past the baseline, right into Gobert. The Frenchman took exception, laying hands on the 25-year-old guard and shoving him away.
Quick intervention by Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and the officials prevented the situation from escalating, but both Braun and Gobert were assessed technical fouls in the aftermath.
Gobert praised the dunk itself after the game, but not Braun’s celebration:
“He dunked on me. That was incredible, but what happened after the dunk was what I didn’t like. But the dunk was great. It’s part of the game, there’s a lot of adrenaline. I respect him, it was a nice dunk.”
It was a highlight play for the Nuggets, who took a 10-point lead a minute later. That was the end of the good, though, as the Timberwolves proceeded to erase the deficit over the course of four minutes in what ended up being a Minnesota win.
Gobert played a vital part in putting the Nuggets away, making both of his free throw with 10 seconds left and forcing reigning MVP Nikola Jokić into a difficult 3-pointer to end the game.
Gobert finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while Braun had 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds. Aaron Gordon led all scorers with 31 points, while Anthony Edwards had 29 points for the victors.