As Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley were walking to the Timberwolves locker room late Thursday night, the big center had a message for his point guard.
"I missed you, Mike Conley," Gobert said. "Don't ever leave me again."
Conley missed Game 5 of the Wolves' playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday because of a right calf injury. He made it back for Game 6 on Thursday and posted 13 points, five assists in a 115-70 victory at Target Center, but there were also some unquantifiable intangibles not shown in the boxscore.
The Wolves had their collective big brother, the organizer of the offense and the person who brings the temperature down a bit when guys get too heated, back on the floor.