Lakers head coach JJ Redick bumped Jaxson Hayes from the starting unit and out of the rotation, which allowed Gobert to control the paint in this game from start to finish. He set new playoff career-highs for both points and rebounds to help Minnesota advance to the next round. Entering this game, Gobert had a total of 14 points and 25 rebounds during this series. Clearly, Game 5 was a huge step in the right direction for him, and he will look to carry this into the conference semifinals, where they will await the winner of the Rockets-Warriors series.

Gobert wasn’t able to provide a true encore to his 35-point performance on Friday, but he was able to turn in another double-double. The final few weeks entering the postseason have been excellent for Gobert; this was his fifth game with at least 15 rebounds in his last 10 appearances. This may not have been Gobert’s most productive regular season, but he’s getting hot at the right time. Minnesota will have a week off before they travel for Game 1 of their first-round matchup.