Rudy Gobert nearly hit by horn falling from Target Center jumbotron

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – There’s been some weird things that have happened over the years during Minnesota Timberwolves’ home games at Target Center.

We’ve had “Glue Girl,” where a woman protesting the killing of birds at an Iowa farm owned by Glen Taylor glued herself to the court. Earlier this season, two women went onto the court using their social media influence to promote a new cryptocurrency. They were immediately tackled and taken away by security.

Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks might have topped them all. Rudy Gobert nearly got hit by a piece of falling jumbotron at the end of the first quarter.

What happened?

What we know: The Timberwolves led the short-handed Hawks 28-20 after the first quarter. As Gobert and other players walked back toward the bench, something from the scoreboard fell and landed between the free-throw and three-point line. 

“It (happened) right in front of me. I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” Gobert said post game. Asked if his life flashed before his eyes, he said, “Yes.”

It was enough to startle Gobert and make him brace himself, and for Naz Reid to look up and see what was going on. 

What we don’t know: What actually fell. It appeared on TV to be part of the horn we hear when there’s a substitution, the end of a quarter or a need for a stoppage in play.

Chris Finch rips Timberwolves in win over Hawks

How it happened: Anthony Edwards led four Timberwolves in double figures with 23 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Julius Randle had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Gobert had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Naz Reid had 15 points off the bench.

The Timberwolves are four games above .500, at 25-21, for the first time all season. Last year, they played 74 games when they were at least four games above .500 and finished with 56 regular season wins. It wasn’t pretty, with the Timberwolves leading 60-43 at half. They lost the third quarter 31-20 and the second half 49-40, making just enough plays to win. But it wasn’t pretty against a depleted Hawks’ team. Chris Finch ripped into his team in the locker room before speaking with reporters postgame.

“That was a totally unacceptable second half of basketball. If we’re trying to be a team, we’re trying to go where we’re trying to go, that’s not good enough,” Finch said.

The Timberwolves were 30-11 at Target Center last season on the way to making a run to the Western Conference Finals. After Monday night’s win, they’re 12-10 on their home floor as we’re more than halfway through the regular season.

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