Behind Drew Eubanks' Poster Dunk on Rudy Gobert

A late defensive turnaround gave the Trail Blazers a solid home win against the Timberwolves.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Drew Eubanks' back must be feeling better.

We can talk about the Trail Blazers' fourth-quarter defensive turnaround or Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons both topping the 30-point mark in a nice home win over the Timberwolves, but the moment of the night was Eubanks getting one over Rudy Gobert.

"I think we ran that play three times in a row," Eubanks said after the game. "On the second one, he helped up and I was supposed to screen for Ant coming out, and Dame saw an opening and passed it to me. Shit, I just tried to put it through the rim."

Lillard didn't know what to expect when he threw the pass.

"Drew is bouncy, but Rudy Gobert is so tall and long that he'll always get to it," Lillard said. "So I was standing at the rim like, 'Let's see how this is gonna go.' And he got him."

It took three more possessions and almost a full minute of game clock before anyone realized that Eubanks had sliced his finger on the rim and was bleeding profusely up and down the court. He left the game to get bandaged, and after the game had a giant splint on his pinky.

Eubanks' dunk gave the Blazers an eight-point lead after a rough third quarter where Minnesota worked up a double-digit lead, taking advantage of defense Josh Hart called "fucking shit." The renewed defensive focus came from within, by all accounts. Chauncey Billups said he didn't need to get on players because they were getting on each other in the timeout huddle.

"We came in the huddle and it was like, Rudy Gobert is diving down the lane and when we go to help, they're getting corner threes," Lillard said. "And it's like, 'We covered this shit in our walk-through. What are we doing?' That was the conversation in the huddle. If we know he's switching and we don't get under, Rudy Gobert is gonna be rolling and then we'll have to protect the rim first, and they're gonna advance pass and get corner threes. That's what they did to our defense last year. We talked about this. And everybody was pretty much able to look around and say, 'This is a fact.' We talked about this in walk-through. We saw this on film. And at that point, you're either going to be able to do your job or your teammates are gonna be looking at you like, 'Bro, why aren't you doing your job?' We all just stepped up to the plate."

What We Saw

For paid subscribers, notes, thoughts and observations from the game, plus the Jersey of the Night:

• I asked Chauncey Billups before the game for an update on Gary Payton II, who returned to full-contact practice this week and appeared closer to making his season debut but was once again out: "He's still playing. He played a little three-on-three today. He's still pretty sore after he plays. But I'm happy to see him on the court, which means he's getting closer." At this point, I would lean against Payton playing in the rematch against the Wolves on Monday. What I wrote earlier this week about the situation is still true, to the best of my knowledge: Payton hasn't suffered any setbacks in his rehab, but the hangup has been with his ability to power through the soreness he's experienced following a hard practice. With Payton's playing style being so physical and athleticism-based, there's a hesitancy to put him out there at less than 100 percent. Only he and the medical staff will know when they're comfortable enough with it to have him play in a game. That's where it stands right now.

• Both teams wore their City Edition jerseys tonight. I didn't like it—not just because I'm a traditionalist when it comes to the home team wearing white and the away team wearing a color, but because both teams were wearing jerseys that didn't involve their usual colors. You couldn't tell it was a Blazers-Timberwolves game if you didn't read the words on the jerseys. The league is getting paid a lot of money by Nike on the apparel deal, but uniform matchups like this don't sit right with me.

• With a little under five minutes to go in the third quarter, one of the strangest sequences I've ever seen in an NBA game took place. Naz Reid drew a foul against Justise Winslow, and for some reason, Anthony Edwards shot—and made—both free throws. Then, after play resumed, referees blew the play dead to take a look at the video review. Everyone—fans, players, coaches, media—was completely confused as to what was going on, and it didn't help that the referee microphone was broken and didn't pick up the sound when they attempted to explain what they were looking at on the video review. Finally, they determined that the incorrect shooter had been at the line, took the two points from Edwards' free throws off the board for Minnesota and had Reid retake them. He made both, so the result of the play was exactly the same. It's not often you see something you've never seen before, but you never know what you're going to get.

• Lillard scored 36 points tonight, leaving him 144 shy of Clyde Drexler's franchise record. It's a virtual lock he becomes the Blazers' all-time leading scorer at some point on the upcoming six-game road trip.

• The Oregon State football team was in the building ahead of their appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl next weekend. They got stuck in the 300 level, though, not a suite. At least they got to see Eubanks' dunking display.

Jersey of the Night

An all-timer, up there with any I've ever seen at the Moda Center.