Luka Doncic Confirmed He Wanted Rudy Gobert For His Last Shot: ‘I Can’t Move Fast, But I Can Move Faster Than Him’

Luka Doncic handed the Minnesota Timberwolves an absolutely gut-wrenching loss on Friday night, as the Mavs superstar hit a stepback three over Rudy Gobert with three seconds left to give them a 109-108 win and a 2-0 series lead.

Dallas trailed by as many as 18 in the first half, but their defense tightened up in the second half and Luka and Kyrie Irving came alive, swiping yet another game on the road in this Western Conference Finals. After the game, Doncic joined the Inside the NBA crew for a postgame conversation, and unsurprisingly, Draymond Green had one thing on his mind.

Green wanted to talk with Doncic about targeting Rudy Gobert on that final possession, asking Doncic if that was the matchup he was looking for coming out of the timeout. Luka confirmed it was, saying, “we wanted that.”

In case Green’s feelings on Gobert weren’t already known, in the middle of the interview he got more “Draymond Sucks” chants, and shouted back “Rudy sucks,” with Chuck cracking the desk up by telling them to go home and they’ll “see you next year.”

Once the interview continued, Doncic noted he was “a little bit” surprised the Wolves gave him that switch and didn’t send a double, leaving Gobert on an island on the perimeter where he is not at his most comfortable. Shaq asked if he’d attack any big that way, with Luka noting it’s matchup dependent and with Rudy, “I can’t move fast, but I can move faster than him.”

This interview followed a spirited debate about whether Gobert should’ve been on the floor, with Green, Shaq, and Chuck agreeing they should’ve had someone else out there that could switch. Kenny disagreed and felt it wasn’t an issue of Rudy being out there or not, but instead was a strategic issue of not doubling Luka, feeling Doncic would’ve done that to anyone.

While that may be true, Doncic certainly seemed happy to see Gobert on him, and despite being a bit coy on the TNT desk, he let Rudy know exactly how he felt in the moment.

The series will now shift to Dallas, where the Mavs will try to protect home court and, possibly, polish off a sweep to punch their ticket to the Finals for the first time in over a decade.