Skip to content

Gobert says Waiters made 'dirty play' by diving at his knees

Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Rudy Gobert briefly left Friday's game with a right knee injury before returning to record a valiant double-double in the Utah Jazz's dispiriting 84-74 loss to the Miami Heat.

Gobert was undercut by Heat guard Dion Waiters, who was challenging for a loose ball. Waiters stumbled and Gobert's leg crumpled, but no foul was called on the play. He hobbled to the locker room but returned for the fourth quarter after being diagnosed with a harmless knee contusion.

The 7-foot Frenchman was still steaming about the play after the game.

"It feels better than it looked on the video," Gobert told Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News. "I think it was a dirty play, but no matter what the most important thing is to keep getting better and to win tomorrow.

"He just dove right into my knee. Kind of like the same thing that happened before on my MCL so my knee just went inside and kind of popped inside and back out," Gobert continued.

He didn't stop there, as Gobert also linked a replay of his injury on Twitter after sharing his side of the story with the press.

Gobert finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 35 minutes.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox