HOUSTON — Rudy Gobert has been at the center of the Minnesota Timberwolves post-Thanksgiving surge, charging back into the conversation for NBA Defensive Player of the Year and showing more polish to his offensive game than ever in his fourth season in the Twin Cities.
That is what made him so upset with his performance against the Houston Rockets. Gobert went 2 of 10 at the free-throw line and had a nightmare fourth quarter that included two crucial turnovers and several uncharacteristic blunders on the defensive end that led him to take the blame for a 110-105 loss on Friday night.
“Just a lot of plays, man. Mistakes. Free throws. A lot of things that I can control,” Gobert said. “I definitely cost us the game. I take responsibility for that. I’ve got to be better.”
Two of his misses at the line on Friday were air balls, and he has become the poster child for Minnesota’s collective struggles on free throws. The Wolves entered the night seventh in the NBA in attempts, but 28th in percentage. The Wolves followed that up by going a ghastly 20 of 35 against the Rockets. Make even half of those 15 misses, and they win the game.
“We have good shooters from the line missing them, too,” coach Chris Finch said.
Gobert was the primary culprit, but Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Mike Conley also missed foul shots in the fourth quarter, preventing the Wolves from getting over the hump in an ugly, physical, foul-filled game.
Gobert was just 1 of 4 from the line in the fourth. The Wolves missed six free throws in a quarter they lost by six points, a maddening habit that has persisted all season. Gobert has never been Steph Curry at the line, owning a career 63.7 percent conversion rate. He showed improvement last season, hitting 67 percent of his free throws, but has dipped to 50.6 percent this season.
“I think it’s just (try not to) overthink it,” he said. “Just like everything, if you overthink, you lose the motion. When you try to make them too much, that’s when you miss. Just gotta keep working and not overthink. Go up there relaxed and confident.”
Missing foul shots is one thing, but making the mental mistakes in the fourth quarter is what irked him. After missing a pair of free throws while the Wolves were down six with 4 minutes, 27 seconds to play, a frustrated Gobert recklessly charged at a non-shooter, Josh Okogie, in the corner and put him on the free-throw line.
“There’s no point to leave your feet and come down on him in that situation,” Finch said.
Gobert prides himself on his decision-making on the defensive end. So when errors like that occur, it is hard not to conclude that his foul shooting troubles are bleeding into other areas of his game.
“I’m smarter than that and I’m the one that has to make the smartest play defensively, not the dumbest play,” Gobert lamented. “Tonight, I made the dumbest play. I’ve just gotta be better and I’ll do it.”
He was far from the only one to blame. Bones Hyland went 1 of 4 from the field, missed his only two foul shots and committed an ill-advised foul when he struck Alperen Şengün before the ball was inbounded, giving Houston a free foul shot before retaining possession.
Randle scored 39 points, filling in as the primary scorer with Anthony Edwards missing a second straight game with right foot injury maintenance. However, Randle turned the ball over five times, including two in the final 12 minutes.
The Wolves shot 53 percent in the fourth quarter but turned the ball over eight times, limiting their possessions. In games this close, there were too many self-inflicted errors for the Wolves to overcome.
It all added up to the Wolves dropping a game that was right there for the taking. They led by 12 points in the first half, outrebounded the rough-and-tumble Rockets 45-42, including holding the historically great offensive rebounding team to zero offensive boards in the fourth quarter.
“I’ll take this one,” Gobert said. “It’s on me. I’ve got to be better.”
Naz Reid scored 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting, but Kevin Durant scored 39 points and Şengün finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds for Houston. The Rockets weren’t any better at the line, going 20 of 34, which left the door wide open for the Wolves. However, they couldn’t walk through it.
Help may be on the way when they play the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.
Edwards traveled with the team to Texas and got a workout in before Friday’s game. He has been dealing with a painful infection in his toe, as ESPN first reported, that has been nagging for some time. But he was in good spirits on Friday night.
Finch said before the game that he did not see it as a long-term issue, calling him day-to-day.
The Wolves (27-15) fell to 17-7 since Thanksgiving. There have been at least four games they feel could have gone the other way had they finished stronger. Add this one to the list.