NBA Playoffs: A great Rudy Gobert eliminates the Lakers of LeBron James and Luka Doncic in the first round
Author of 27 points and 24 rebounds, Rudy Gobert was brilliant with the Minnesota Timberwolves to eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
Heads of "no no no" in the final quarter to show the hostile crowd that the wall would remain impregnable. And muscles contracted after each dunk scored. "It was Rudy's night" on Wednesday, April 30, commented his coach Chris Finch, after Rudy Gobert's superb performance against the Lakers of LeBron James and Luka Doncic (103 to 96). With 27 points and 24 rebounds, the Frenchman from the Minnesota Timberwolves largely contributed to eliminating the two stars for this fifth game of the series, in the first round of the playoffs (4-1).
With these statistics, Rudy Gobert sets his two playoff records, at 32 years old, and for his ninth participation. A nice revenge for the one who has already been elected four times best defender of the year and three times All Star, but who is often criticized or mocked. "I always heard people who did not believe in me. I always tried to be above that, I always believed in myself and that pushed me to work even harder all my career, all my life. I am the one who writes my story and when the story is over, I know that I will have no regrets, because from where I started, it was not won," he reacted.
RUDY GOBERT DOMINATES INSIDE TO LIFT THE @Timberwolves INTO THE WEST SEMIS!🐺 27 PTS🐺 24 REB (9 OREB)🐺 2 BLK🐺 80.0 FG% (12-15 FGM)
Gobert is just the FOURTH player to record 25/20 on 80+ FG% in a playoff game... and the first since 1996 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UFAgmqZQE0
"Rudy is a winner at the highest level ," Chris Finch added. "You can dislike him, dislike what he does, what he looks like, whatever you want, but when you have him on your team you understand what a professional and a winner is. He's a great competitor who doesn't pay attention to what anyone says about him."
The mood was less celebratory for the Lakers and "King" James. Third in the Western Conference during the regular season, they disappointed in the playoffs, with an early and lackluster elimination, losing two of their three home games. In his first season at the helm of the team, coach JJ Redick was unable to do better than his predecessor Darvin Ham, who exited at the same stage last year. The Lakers seemed to pay for the lack of depth in their roster, shaken up in February with the arrival of Slovenian magician Luka Doncic, notably in exchange for All-Star center Anthony Davis.
LeBron James has completed his 22nd NBA season at the age of 40. He signed a new two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers last summer, with the second year remaining at his discretion. The superstar, who was taken off the field a few minutes after a collision in the fourth quarter, never gave any indication during the season that he might retire in 2025. But he remained evasive about his future after the game. "I'm going to sit down with my wife, my family, and also have a conversation with myself about how long I want to continue playing. We'll see," he replied.
The Timberwolves will face either the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in the conference semifinals. Golden State leads 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Friday in California. In other Western Conference action, the Denver Nuggets lead the Los Angeles Clippers 3-2. And the Oklahoma City Thunder easily eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies (4-0).
In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the semifinals against the Miami Heat (4-0). They will face the Indiana Pacers, who triumphed over the Milwaukee Bucks (4-1). Boston, who defeated Orlando (4-1), awaits its opponent between the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons.
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