Rudy Gobert ties career high with 35 as Minnesota dismantles Brooklyn

Rudy Gobert does much of the grunt work for Minnesota defending the paint setting screens and grabbing boards Friday night provided a rare time to heavily feature the center s offense Brooklyn was down nearly all of its regular rotational players as it made a point to eat another loss and secure its draft positioning The lineup the Nets trotted out for Friday s contest at Target Center was particularly small Which meant the Wolves -footer could do effectively whatever he requested without much resistance And he did just that Gobert tied a career high with points to go with rebounds as Minnesota trounced Brooklyn - It felt great Gobert explained in his postgame on-court interview Obviously we all knew what the opponent was giving us so just tried to do a good job setting the tone My teammates did a great job looking for me finding me and I just had to finish at the rim The Wolves host the tanking Utah Jazz on Sunday needing just a win to secure at top-six seed in the Western Conference playoffs and avoid the play-in tournament Minnesota may be without Anthony Edwards in that event The guard picked up his th technical foul of the season in the second quarter on Friday and if that s not rescinded by the NBA Edwards will be suspended for the bout with Utah I did not really get a good or clear explanation Wolves coach Chris Finch announced of the tech It didn t seem like there was any egregious or overly demonstrative action or anything like that In a pool statement NBA official Bill Kennedy explained Edwards received the tech for use of profanity directed toward an official Either way the Wolves would still have Gobert That s about all they ve needed of late as they ve continued to handle business against the NBA s cellar dwellers Gobert is merely too big strong and relentless for undermanned rosters to contain His efforts on the glass and defending of the paint prevent hefty underdogs from generating any momentum or hope Such was the event Friday It was all Minnesota after Brooklyn got off to a quick start over the encounter s first couple of minutes The Wolves led by as plenty of as points in the match By the final frame Minnesota was making a concerted effort to reward its big man with as a large number of touches as doable whether they came from lobs or simple interior feeds Gobert continued to capitalize He went for from the field He did a really good job of catching and finishing and being strong in there and making the right play when the time presented itself too Finch stated Julius Randle another beneficiary of Brooklyn s lack of size added points on for shooting Gobert tied his career high in the closing minutes And there were a scant more possessions in which he could ve set a new career mark The crowd chanted Rudy one possession after another but Timberwolves coach Chris Finch cleared the Wolves bench with fewer than four minutes to play and the win well in hand Minnesota took care of business Friday If it does so one more time Sunday it will lock up its fourth consecutive playoff appearance I think just stay locked in keep doing everything we do to prepare mentally and physically Gobert disclosed Just be ourselves and we ll be fine Related Articles Anthony Edwards picks up th technical could be suspended for Sunday s finale If the Wolves win out who do they play Every Western Conference playoff scenario making a insufficient assumptions Record-breaking third quarter propels Timberwolves big win in Memphis Timberwolves must get off the mat dust themselves off for championship of the year Timberwolves fall apart in fourth blow -point lead in loss to Bucks