Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves kept chugging along as they have all season, defeating James Harden and the LA Clippers for their 37th win of the season. They currently sit atop the Western Conference as the All-Star break nears are on pace for the most wins since the 2003-04 season as well as the second most wins in franchise history.
Monday marked the second time this season the Wolves beat the Clippers, with this time being a trouncing in Los Angeles. Spearheaded by a 17-point, 10-rebound, 4-block double-double, Rudy Gobert and the Wolves defeated the Clippers 121-100, while holding them to just 40.5 percent shooting from the field and 47.5 percent in the painted area.
The Timberwolves, on the other hand, continued to pound the ball inside and punish the Clippers for going small. Minnesota finished shooting just a shade under 70 percent en route to their 64 points in the paint.
Karl-Anthony Towns shot a perfect 7-of-7 on two-pointers, all of which came in the paint. Anthony Edwards shot a perfect 7-of-7 on two-points, all in the paint. Jaden McDaniels also shot a perfect 4-of-4 on two-pointers.
“That's who we are,” Rudy Gobert said after the win. “We're not gonna change who we are for anybody. They're obviously a really good team, they're very physical, very long, they have a lot of guys that are strong for their position. They can play small and still be able to give trouble to a lot of teams but we're up for that challenge. That's who they are and we have to stay true to who we are and we know that we're capable of that.”
Including the two wins against him this year, Rudy Gobert has a 10-13 record against James Harden in regular season and playoff games over their time in the NBA.
The interesting tidbit here is that last month's contest between the Wolves and Clippers on January 14, 2024 was the first time since almost four years that Gobert and Harden played against one another in a game. That matchup, which was a Rockets-Jazz game on February 22, 2020, saw Harden win while playing alongside Russell Westbrook.
Even with the four straight regular season wins against the Clippers and six wins in his last eight games against them, Rudy Gobert maintains a healthy level of respect for the opposition and the firepower that they possess with James Harden on the team.
“I mean he's been one of the main reasons why they've been so good,” Gobert said of Harden‘s joining the Clippers. “I think it's changed and allowed this team to get another dimension, especially offensively. He's a Hall-of-Famer for a reason. He's a very unique player, and it's always fun, it's always a good challenge for us to compete against guys like that.”
The Clippers emerged from their season-long seven-game road trip with 6-1 record, but they've dropped two of their last three games since their return home. Something Tyronn Lue has harped on all year is the ability to come out victorious no matter how the game is going.
“You got to be able to win games in different ways,” Tyronn Lue said before Timberwolves-Clippers. “You're not going to score the ball great every night. You're not going to defend great every night, but you got to be able to find ways to win those games.
“We just got to continue to just keep working, keep plugging away and continue to keep getting better with our small lineup, with our big lineup and every day just approaching it like we got to get better.”
The Timberwolves and Clippers will play two more matchups this season, both of which are expected to have major implications on the NBA standings. The Clippers will close out their ALl-Star break
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