In a blossoming rivalry with Dallas Mavericks, Timberwolves still don’t match up

Pinson: “But you’re paying him $40 million, $50 million, you better get out there and figure it out.’’

Lively: “And he didn’t.’’

There were some profanities included in Pinson’s rhetoric.

Gobert, 7-foot-1, winner of his fourth NBA Defensive Player of Year award, recipient of a three-year extension in which he accepted less than maximum dollars, came off as very amped to get things down at the start.

The Mavs had this strategy to complicate things for Gobert: Run the floor with the center. Gafford, the starter, did that for three buckets in the first quarter.

Gafford, 6-foot-10 and muscular, was drafted in the second round out of Arkansas in 2019. The Mavericks were desperate for size in the middle and traded a first-rounder and spare player to Washington to get him on the Feb. 8 trading deadline.