The Minnesota Timberwolves hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in Minneapolis in the first of the two meetings scheduled between the two sides this season. With the Timberwolves leading 25-20 eight minutes into the first quarter, De’Andre Hunter got riled up by the physicality inside the paint from Rudy Gobert.
This resulted in him getting pushed to the other side while the French big man held onto his jersey. Hunter shoved Gobert in frustration with both hands while the Timberwolves center acted innocent about these actions.
De’Andre Hunter and Rudy Gobert getting chippy 👀 pic.twitter.com/E6wV7filey
— Dylan🔮🎆 (@dillybar2145__) January 9, 2026
With his hands raised as if he did nothing, Gobert walked back into Hunter, which triggered him to shove the former Defensive Player of the Year once again. Officials and teammates from both sides intervened to separate the players before adjudicating on the situation.
The officials looked at the replays and decided that both players deserved a defensive foul for the play, and a technical foul was assessed to both players as the game went on.
It seemed as though Gobert had a target on his back after the timeout during the scuffle. The Timberwolves were up by as many as 12 points by this point in the first quarter. But the Cavaliers rallied back and took a nine-point lead early in the second quarter.
The Cavaliers seemingly began targeting Gobert on the defensive end, seeking contact with the French big man wherever possible and bringing the physicality to him consistently. The Cavaliers led the Timberwolves 67-63 at the half.
However, it is noteworthy that Gobert was responding on the offensive end as well as the Cavaliers could not force a miss from him until that point (11 points, 5-5 from the field). The Timberwolves rallied back at the end of halftime and immediately regained control of the game 75-89 midway through the third quarter.
Rudy Gobert driving deceleration pump-fake + layup WOW pic.twitter.com/9ZchGFN6KH
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) January 9, 2026
Since 2019, these Gobert and Hunter have faced each other 10 times in the regular season. Rudy Gobert leads their head-to-head matchup with a 7-3 record in those 10 games.
The French big man has averaged 14.5 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks against De’Andre Hunter throughout his career while making 65.8% of his field-goal attempts.
Meanwhile, De’Andre Hunter has averaged 16.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in his career against Rudy Gobert, shooting with a 43.2% from beyond the three-point line.
It will be interesting to see what Hunter has to say about the incident after the game, as he was more riled up by Gobert’s actions.
