Timberwolves 105, Nets 90: Rudy Gobert Imposes His Will in Brooklyn

Rudy Gobert dominated the glass while ball movement and shot-making from Anthony Edwards propel the Timberwolves to their 4th straight win.

The Minnesota Timberwolves soared into New York, fresh off a seesaw battle with the Denver Nuggets, to take on the lowly Brooklyn Nets. With Brooklyn entirely fixated on the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes over results on the hardwood, several key players were left out of action.

The Timberwolves, however, are back to full strength, welcoming back Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo from their one-game suspension due to on-court extracurriculars.

The Timberwolves started the game with yet another play design featuring Jaden McDaniels at the controls, something I believe we’ll continue to see more of in the coming years. The offense was humming behind Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert to start the game. Last year in the playoffs, Rudy’s inability to consistently punish open ends in the short roll shackled the Timberwolves’ offense from reaching its full potential. It may be the 2nd string Nets, but Rudy was slinging the ball around off the short roll, leaving Timberwolves nation smiling ear to ear.

Oh, how quickly smiles can fade. Just as the Wolves began to establish an early 18-9 lead, turnovers and sloppy play jump-started the Nets. Storming back to take a 24-22 lead early in the 2nd. Again, Rudy Gobert was ready to answer the bell as he dominated the boards to settle his team down. Anthony Edwards couldn’t get left out of the fun, pouring on 15 points in the half.

But for the second time in as many quarters, the good times quickly turned. After canning a corner three, Anthony Edwards rolled his ankle as Nets Head Coach Jordi Fernández walked behind him. Fortunately, he would return later in the game.

Fortunately for Minnesota, a plethora of talent remains capable of stepping in to fill the scoring void.

Julius Randle spearheaded the commitment to ball movement, flinging the ball around confidently to open shooters. Naz Reid benefited tremendously from Randle’s gravity, knifing into the shifted defense of the Nets while Mike Conley feasted on open three-point looks.

Rudy Gobert continued his demolition of the Brooklyn frontcourt, propelling Minnesota’s offense to start the 2nd half. On defense, Gobert stifled Brooklyn’s persistence on attacking the paint with never mind after never mind.

To their credit, the Nets continued to make shots to keep themselves within striking distance. That is until Anthony Edwards rose to the scorer’s table with ten minutes left in the fourth. The 23-year-old superstar added a flamethrower to the Minnesota attack and pushed their offense pace to levels the Nets couldn’t match, allowing the Wolves to coast to a 105-90 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Your Minnesota Timberwolves improve to 45-32.

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Game Notes

Rudy Gobert pulverizes the Nets

May I declare… The Rudy Gobert Game! Maybe that’s a bit dramatic against the tanking Nets, but the opponent doesn’t change the fact that Gobert was unstoppable on the glass. Gobert vacuumed up 14 boards in the first half alone.

It wasn’t just his typical dominance on defense and the glass, but Rudy’s ability to punish his matchup in the post and distribute the ball in the short roll that took his performance over the edge. Gobert finished the game with 21 points and 18 boards on the night.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker continues to impress.

After an incredible performance in Denver, Alexander-Walker continued to buoy the Timberwolves’ bench unit. NAW stuffed the stat sheet, logging 13 points, five assists, and three blocks. He was everywhere, disrupting the Nets’ offense with active hands and hitting momentum-swinging shots. It truly feels like whenever the Timberwolves desperately need to hit a shot, it’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker who follows through.

The Timberwolves’ impressive ball movement

Early in the season, sticky offense undercut the potential of the Wolves offensively. As the season creeps toward the playoffs, the Timberwolves are finding their rhythm together as a team by making the right reads and trusting each other that good decisions will cultivate overall success.

The Timberwolves notched 27 assists tonight, but their commitment to ball movement was impressive. This is a team coming together at the right time.

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Up Next

The Timberwolves are headed south along the East Coast for a matchup with the flailing Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, April 5th. You can catch the action at 6 PM CT on FanDuel Sports Network.

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Game Highlights