Hours after a chippy play marred the Boston Celtics' 124–109 win over the Charlotte Hornets, another such play colored the Minnesota Timberwolves' 119–116 win over the Denver Nuggets.
With a little under six minutes left in the contest and his team up 108–102, Nuggets guard Christian Braun spotted an open path to the basket and drove into the paint. He was met by Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, but threw down a monstrous dunk anyway.
Clearly fired up by the slam, Braun appeared to talk a little trash to Gobert—only for the center to push the guard out of his path. The two players were quickly restrained, and both received technical fouls.
Christian Braun and Rudy Gobert got into it after this play.
— ESPN (@espn) November 2, 2024
Double technical fouls were assessed. pic.twitter.com/lSCC7J4sNY
Braun finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Gobert scored 17 points and pulled down 14 boards.
The game served as another fascinating chapter of a budding NBA rivalry between teams that have met in each of the last two postseasons. Denver beat Minnesota in the first round in five games in 2023 on its way to a championship, while the Timberwolves upset the Nuggets in a seven-game conference semifinal series in 2024.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Christian Braun, Rudy Gobert Jaw Briefly After Nuggets Guard Throws Down Monster Dunk.
