Dwight Howard shows utmost respect for Rudy Gobert as he misses Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets

Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert missed Game 2 of his team’s series against the Denver Nuggets on Monday, and he had a good reason to do so, welcoming his first child into the world on the same day as the game.

2020 Los Angeles Lakers champion Dwight Howard had nothing but good things to say about Gobert’s decision to prioritize his family.

In the end, the Timberwolves took care of business without Gobert, stealing another game on the road to take complete control of their series against the Nuggets. Minnesota won by 26 points in Game 2 to push its series lead to 2-0.

Gobert, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, has been impactful on both ends of the floor for the Timberwolves this season and postseason. In Minnesota’s sweep of the Phoenix Suns in the first round, the big man averaged 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest while shooting 61.3 percent from the field and making life tough on Phoenix’s offense.

With Gobert presumably set to return in Game 3, Minnesota has to feel good about its chances during the remainder of its series against Denver. The Timberwolves now have home-court advantage and could even clinch the series by the end of the weekend by taking care of business at home in Games 3 and 4.

But the Nuggets certainly aren’t going to make it easy, as they know what it takes to put together a title run and are entirely capable of getting back into the series. If Denver wins one of the next two games, the series will be 3-1, a margin that the Nuggets were on the wrong side of in the 2020 NBA Playoffs before they staged an epic comeback against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Gobert, who is in his second season with Minnesota, is hoping that no such magic is in the cards for Denver this season. With the veteran now a father, he’ll have a lot on his mind when the series picks up again on Friday, but he clearly has a whole lot to be excited about at this point in his life.