Erik Spoelstra the latest coach to be astounded by dominant Timberwolves

Longtime Heat coach praises Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards.

Like a boa constrictor, the Minnesota Timberwolves choked the life out of the Miami Heat with a dominant second-half defensive performance en route to a 112-108 victory in South Florida on Monday night. 

Erik Spoelstra, the longtime coach of the Heat, came away very impressed by the Western Conference front-runners. 

"They're the No. 1 defensive team in the league for a reason," Spoelstra said of the Timberwolves. "I think they buckled down more in that second half. Gobert had a massive impact in that fourth quarter, as we all saw, as a deterrent on basically whatever action we were running."

Miami scored 66 points in the first half and led by as many as 17 points before the 20-5 Timberwolves flexed their muscles and held the Heat to 17 points in the third quarter and 25 in the fourth. 

"That's why he is who he is. I don't know how many times he's been on a team where they have the No. 1 defense, but it's been more than five, I'm sure," Spoelstra said. 

Spoelstra was a bit exaggerative in his praising of Gobert, whose teams since entering the league in 2013 have been No. 1 in defensive rating just once before. But that doesn't change the fact that Gobert owns three Defensive Player of the Year awards and is a leading candidate for a fourth this season. 

• 2023-24: #1 Minnesota
• 2022-23: #15 Minnesota
• 2021-22: #9 Utah
• 2020-21: #3 Utah
• 2019-20: #12 Utah
• 2018-19: #2 Utah
• 2017-18: #1 Utah
• 2016-17: #3 Utah
• 2015-16: #7 Utah
• 2014-15: #14 Utah
• 2013-14: #29 Utah

Gobert finished with nine points, 16 rebounds and two blocks, including an emphatic rejection of Bam Adebayo's shot late in the game that led to a transition dunk for Anthony Edwards, who led Minnesota with 32 points in 40 minutes. 

"And then Anthony Edwards was, well he was just terrific down the stretch. He did it in a lot of different ways, so it wasn't as if we could send a second defender on every single situation," Spoelstra said. "He basically hit all the options on the menu to have the kind of night that he had and he had some big ones down the stretch."

Long gone is the thought that playing two 7-footers – Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns – at the same time was destined for failure. Minnesota's size has forced teams like Miami to go with bigger lineups, taking them out of their comfort zone from smaller lineups employed most nights. 

"They're unique," Spoelstra said, noting that they had to make lineup adjustments to combat the size. 

"They're long and athletic. They force you into tough shots. That's why they got the No. 1 defense in the league," Heat guard Tyler Herro said. "They make you settle for a lot of mid-range, contested 2s, which doesn't always add up to the points you need to beat those guys."

Up next is perhaps the toughest test yet for the Timberwolves when they face Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in Philly on Wednesday night.