One does not become a defensive powerhouse by dwelling on the rare times they are bested or even outwitted by an opposing player. Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert showed just how short his memory is when he put rookie sensation Chet Holmgren on a poster Tuesday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder big man brilliantly slipped past the French native in the first quarter of a showdown between two of the Western Conference's top teams. Holmgren used a pump fake to catch Gobert off balance, passed the ball to Josh Giddey and then finished at the rim off a beautiful give-and-go.

It was a masterful display of skills and fundamentals, one the three-time Defensive Player of the Year responded to in the second quarter. Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns showed just far their chemistry has progressed in their second season on the Timberwolves together, as the latter found the former for a dunk while driving to the basket. Holmgren could do nothing to stop the emphatic jam.

The Thunder got the last laugh, however, after defeating the Timberwolves, 129-106. Chet Holmgren has 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Rudy Gobert has had an otherwise quiet night consisting of 10 points and four rebounds.

Nevertheless, the dunk, which was followed by a brief flex, illustrates the confidence and court awareness the veteran is exhibiting this season. He is an integral part of a first-place squad and is winning over many of his doubters- the same ones who reasonably did not think he could coexist with fellow big man Towns.

Regardless of his showing in Tuesday's road game, Gobert remains one of the most impenetrable low-post forces the game has known. But Holmgren won this battle.