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Jazz's Rudy Gobert Fined $25K for Saying 'F--k the Talk' After Game 4 Win vs. Mavs
April 24, 2022
Rudy Gobert's dunk in the closing seconds of Saturday's contest gave the Utah Jazz a 100-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, but the big man's emotion in the aftermath proved costly.
The NBA announced it fined Gobert $25,000 for "using profane language during a live television interview."
He said "f--k the talk" during a postgame interview after the Jazz evened their first-round series at two games apiece.
It was a clear message to those who doubt Gobert and the Jazz in the playoffs, especially since it came in response to TNT's Matt Winer mentioning "there's a lot of talk about what this team can and can't be in the postseason."
Utah was under the spotlight coming into these playoffs considering it finished with the league's best record last season just to blow a 2-0 lead in the second round to a Los Angeles Clippers team that was playing without Kawhi Leonard for part of the series.
The Jazz, which finished with the No. 5 seed in this season's Western Conference standings, didn't help things by falling behind 2-1 against the Mavericks even though Luka Doncic didn't play in the first three games.
Jalen Brunson consistently torched their perimeter defenders in those opening three contests and seemed to set the stage for Doncic to essentially put the finishing touches on Utah when he returned in Game 4.
It looked like Doncic did just that with a step-back three to go up four with less than 40 seconds remaining, but Donovan Mitchell's and-1, a defensive stop, Mitchell's lob to Gobert and one more defensive stop gave the Jazz the dramatic win.
There has been no shortage of speculation and reports that Mitchell and Gobert are not exactly the best of friends, which only served to compound the pressure and outside noise the Jazz were facing heading into the series against the Mavericks.
Gobert had a resounding answer to that Saturday, although it cost him in the end.