With less than 30 seconds in regulation of the Minnesota Timberwolves' 113-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, the Timberwolves had a chance to win the game with one defensive stop, as they held a late lead, 97-96. However, on one fateful possession, the Timberwolves' fortunes changed. Not only did Rudy Gobert get whistled for his sixth foul of the night, Gobert also let his emotions get the best of him by making a mockery of the officials, taunting them with a “money” gesture, incurring a technical foul in the process.

This gave the Cavs a free opportunity to tie the game, which they did, and without Gobert in overtime, the Timberwolves ran out of gas. Simply put, Gobert's technical foul was the flapping of a butterfly's wings that caused the typhoon that was the Timberwolves' defeat, and the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, despite standing by the reasoning for his gesture, apologized for the timing of his actions.

“My reaction, which I think is truth, it’s what I truly believe, even if it’s the truth, it wasn’t the time for me to react that way. I should have not done that. I cost my team the game … That was an immature reaction,” Gobert said following the contest, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Indeed, Rudy Gobert was guilty of a double whammy; he already put the Timberwolves in a difficult spot by fouling out, and then he gifted a point to the Cavs which ended up being the difference between a win and a loss.

Nevertheless, the Timberwolves star, who insinuated with his money gesture that the influence of betting in professional sports in this day and age affects how the game is officiated, decried the growing effect of gambling in today's landscape.

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“I bite the bullet every game. I’ll be the bad guy again that speaks what I think is the truth. … Once again, I’ll take the fine. But I think it’s hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way,” Gobert added.

Rudy Gobert wears his emotions on his sleeves, and the Timberwolves won't ask him to be any different, but there is a suitable time and  place for him to air out his frustrations, and doing so in crunch time while holding on to a one-point lead is not it.