Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun violently dunks Rudy Gobert, then celebrates against Rudy Gobert. That sparked some hard feelings in a rematch of a seven-game playoff series from last year.
In the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, Braun found a lane to the basket that took him right in front of the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. That’s usually a recipe for offensive disaster, but Braun powered his way through for a thunderous two-handed dunk that sparked audible gasps from the Target Center crowd.
Braun started celebrating by screaming and running past the baseline, straight into Gobert. The Frenchman was outraged by putting his hands on the 25-year-old goalkeeper and pushing him away.
Quick intervention by Timberwolves forward Jayden McDaniels and officials prevented the situation from escalating, but Braun and Gobert were later called for technical fouls.
Gobert praised the dunk himself after the matchbut not Braun’s celebration:
“He gave me a dunk. It was incredible, but what happened after the dunk is what I didn’t like. But the dunk was awesome. It’s part of the game, there’s a lot adrenaline. I respect it, it was a good time to soak.
It was a big moment for the Nuggets, who took a 10-point lead a minute later. That was the end of the good, though, as the Timberwolves erased all 10 points in four minutes in what ended up being a 119-116 win at Minnesota.
Gobert played a vital role in putting the Nuggets away, making both of his free throws with 10 seconds remaining and forcing reigning MVP Nikola Jokić into a tough 3-point shot 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 winners.