Christian Braun, Rudy Gobert Jaw Briefly After Nuggets Guard Throws Down Monster Dunk

It was a testy night in the NBA.
The Nuggets' Christian Braun passes against the Nets.
The Nuggets' Christian Braun passes against the Nets. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Hours after a chippy play marred the Boston Celtics' 124–109 win over the Charlotte Hornets, another such play colored the Minnesota Timberwolves' 119–116 win over the Denver Nuggets.

With a little under six minutes left in the contest and his team up 108–102, Nuggets guard Christian Braun spotted an open path to the basket and drove into the paint. He was met by Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, but threw down a monstrous dunk anyway.

Clearly fired up by the slam, Braun appeared to talk a little trash to Gobert—only for the center to push the guard out of his path. The two players were quickly restrained, and both received technical fouls.

Braun finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Gobert scored 17 points and pulled down 14 boards.

The game served as another fascinating chapter of a budding NBA rivalry between teams that have met in each of the last two postseasons. Denver beat Minnesota in the first round in five games in 2023 on its way to a championship, while the Timberwolves upset the Nuggets in a seven-game conference semifinal series in 2024.

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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .