Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Luka Doncic hit Rudy Gobert with some absolutely ruthless trash talk both on and off the floor as the Mavericks beat the Timberwolves in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
Luka Doncic roasted Rudy Gobert so hard on the court on Friday night that it’s already becoming a meme, but he might have burned him to a crisp even harder off of it after leading his Dallas Mavericks to a 109-108 comeback win over Gobert’s Minnesota Timberwolves.
On a switch in the fourth quarter with Dallas trailing by just two points, Doncic hunted Gobert on a switch, eventually getting the reigning Defensive Player of the Year on skates to the degree that Reggie Miller described it on the broadcast as “dancing with the stars.” After sending Gobert stumbling with just seconds remaining in the game, Doncic knocked down a three to take a lead his team wouldn’t relinquish in order to take a 2-0 advantage in the series.
After the clutch bucket, Luka — never shy about talking trash — let Rudy know how he really felt:
If these results hold, Doncic’s triumphant scream amidst Gobert’s steely-eyed stare off into space — seemingly already having visions of how badly the internet was going to cook him over Luka making a-still-insanely-tough shot — might go down as the defining image of the 2024 Western Conference Finals:
Now, Luka claimed after the game that he didn’t actually tell Gobert “you can’t f—ing guard me,” insisting he was speaking in Slovenian. However, nothing was lost in translation with what he had to say on television, as Luka wasn’t done fileting Gobert when the action on the court wrapped up.
He was less profane, but somehow even meaner, during a postgame interview with the “Inside the NBA” crew, where he and Shaq laughed at Gobert’s Defensive Player of the Year status before Luka described their matchup about as brutally as he possibly could have while still being self-effacing.
“I can’t move fast, but I can move faster than him,” Doncic said.
We’ll see if this bit of celebrating can be something the Wolves rally around as this series heads back to Dallas, but at least for the next few days, it’s going to be a rough time to be Rudy Gobert.
Almost as rough as being switched onto arguably the best player in the world with the game on the line. Almost.
