On Wednesday evening, the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5. The major story in this contest was Rudy Gobert, who annihilated the Lakers' bold centerless lineup to the tune of 27 points and 24 rebounds, helping Minnesota overcome a dreadful shooting night and hang on for the victory.

Gobert has taken his fair share of criticism during his career, particularly for his perceived tendency to be played off of the floor during close playoff games. However, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch had high praise for the big man after Minnesota advanced.

“When you have this guy on your team, you understand what a professional and a winner is… It was Rudy’s night, and nobody was around to stop him,” said Finch, per Maya Aflakpi on X.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick opted to trot out a lineup with no traditional center for Game 5 after the struggles of Jaxson Hayes through the first four games of the series.

While this lineup gave the Lakers some more offensive versatility, it left them powerless to stop Gobert from dominating on the glass and around the basket, securing several key offensive rebounds to help out the Timberwolves on a night when they shot less than 15% from beyond the arc.

The Timberwolves advance

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Minnesota will now await the winner of the Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets series to decide their second round opponent. The Rockets extended that matchup to a Game 6 with a win on Wednesday evening.

The Rockets have a more traditional lineup including a big man in Alperen Sengun that would normally be more up Gobert's wheelhouse, while the Warriors routinely play without a center on the floor, which Gobert was obviously able to take full advantage of on Wednesday vs the Lakers.

In any case, any frustrations that the Timberwolves had during this past regular season seem to be fully behind them now, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them advance even further into the Western Conference playoffs.

The second round is slated to begin next week.