After a rough 0-for-13 run that brought plenty of heat from Timberwolves fans and even his own coach, Rudy Gobert answered with a much cleaner night in Minnesota’s 127-101 win over the Clippers.
Gobert was on the floor for 30 minutes and finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, plus 13 rebounds and a plus-18 mark. He also added four assists, which stands as a season high for the 14-year veteran.
Before the game, Chris Finch had laid out exactly what he wanted to see from his center. “I see a lot of short arms, a lot of flips, a lot of like kind of finesse shots around there,” said Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch during media availability prior to this evening’s contest.
“I think he just needs, you know, more extension, more more, you know, more pat, more just trying to dump more stuff, honestly. And, you know, trying to, he's trying to play off contact in the wrong way, you know, so, that's, to me, that's it.”
Afterward, Finch liked what he got. “I thought he did a great job,” said Finch postgame.
Jaden McDaniels dunker spot layup, created by LaMelo Ball + Rudy Gobert pic.twitter.com/kuEaqYTv54
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) October 31, 2026
“I thought he made all the right plays when the ball came his way. We kept trusting him, and, you know, it's part of the process right now, just to keep, like, working on that connection, in the different coverages that we see where Rudy is open there.
You know, you had a couple of really good kick-outs from the pocket that got us some easy buckets.”
Those reads showed up in the box score too, with Gobert finding teammates when the defense collapsed on him in the paint. Jaden McDaniels said that part of the game was handled the right way.
“I mean, he handled it good,” said the Timberwolves forward. “I mean, he was patient, he made his reads, and he made the right passes, so I mean, it was nothing more we could ask for.”
McDaniels had a strong night of his own, scoring 23 points and handing out seven assists.
The Timberwolves move on quickly, continuing a stretch of five games in seven days tomorrow against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in San Antonio.
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