March 16, 2023, Celtics 104:102 Timberwolves. Before the game, the outside world was very optimistic about the Celtics, as they were second in the East with a win rate of 68.1, while the Timberwolves were only 7th in the West with a win rate of only 50.7%. It can be seen that there is a certain gap in the performance of these two teams. However, this match did not show a one-sided phenomenon, the two sides played very glue, and there were many situations later, especially Gobert's multiple fouls caused heated discussions in the outside world.
After the start of the game, the two sides were basically tied in the first half, and no one could take advantage of the other side. In the second quarter, Brown had made two 3-pointers to stretch the gap to 10 points, but the Timberwolves immediately went 9-1 to close the gap again. The game came to the second half, and the battle between the two sides became more intense. It was at this time that the Timberwolves' Gobert began to "show off", but he attracted everyone's attention by fouling, and at the same time pushed himself to the cusp of public opinion.
In the third quarter, the Celtics were 62:55 for the Timberwolves, Tatum received a pass from his teammate, then attacked to the basket and made a very beautiful dunk. But at this time, the Timberwolves' Gobert also jumped up to defend, which then caused heated discussions from the outside world. Originally, jumping defense was only a routine operation in basketball, but Gobert was different this time: after the slow-motion replay, everyone could clearly see that Gobert jumped up and shot directly at Tatum, not rushing the ball at all.
Because Gobert's movements were so bad, he also suffered a first-degree foul. Originally, Tatum's dunk was very beautiful, and he also sent the ball into the net, but at this time, Gobert suddenly jumped up and slapped Tatum on the head, and then Tatum fell to the ground. When the Celtics' teammates gathered around, everyone saw Tatum fall to the ground in great pain, and the picture looked particularly distressing. Because of this, Gobert became the target of everyone's verbal criticism.
In fact, this is not Gobert's first foul, because in this game, Gobert's small movements are constant, which has repeatedly caused dissatisfaction among the opposing players. In the second quarter of the game, the Celtics were 33:25 Timberwolves, Jaylen was actively running, ready to find an opportunity to meet his teammates, but Gobert knocked Jaylen to the ground with an elbow without the ball. Later, Jaylen was very angry and stood up to argue with the other party, almost causing a conflict, but fortunately they were pulled away by their teammates. This time, Gobert was criticized by the outside world again.
It has to be said that this time the Celtics won not easily, and it was narrowly won by 2 points. It is worth mentioning that in the 4th quarter, Forest Ben tried to fight back and narrowed the score to 1 goal, but at the crucial time, Tatum caused the opponent to foul and played a decisive role: 2 free throws to take a 4-point lead. Meanwhile, Edwards and Anderson on the Timberwolves side were kicked out for eating technical fouls. Although Gobert's foul looked too bad, Tatum also scored key points with the foul this time. By technical statistics, Tatum had 22 points and 12 rebounds and performed well, while Gobert also scored 15 points. However, Gobert's actions left a "deep impression" on the fans.