Tempers flared during Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals as Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch engaged in a heated altercation with veteran NBA referee Tony Brothers. The confrontation occurred in the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ 115-108 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, which leaves Minnesota trailing 2-1 in the playoff series.
The incident was initially sparked by a delayed timeout call. With just over five minutes remaining in the game, Finch attempted to call a timeout to reset a sloppy offensive possession. However, Brothers, who was positioned near Finch at the half-court line, did not grant the stoppage until several seconds later.
“I had called it three seconds earlier and I wanted the timeout and I said, ‘I want my three seconds back,'” Finch explained during his postgame press conference. “He clearly heard me. He looked my way, ignored me, went on with the play and almost cost us a turnover. He lost it.”
The disagreement escalated during the ensuing dead-ball situation. As Brothers walked toward the Timberwolves’ huddle to exchange retaliatory words, players—including center Naz Reid and guard Bones Hyland—along with assistant coach Pablo Prigioni, had to intervene and temporarily separate the two.
When Finch later attempted to clarify where the basketball would be inbounded, the tension flared up once more.
“Then I went to ask him where the ball was going to be taken in, and he was screaming at me for that,” Finch noted. “So, completely unprofessional behavior by him.”
Despite the highly visible sideline dispute, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards downplayed the confrontation after the game. Edwards, who led the team with 32 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists in 41 minutes of action, chalked the incident up to the high stakes of the postseason.
“It’s competition at the highest level, man,” Edwards told reporters. “We want to win, Finch wants to win. Tony Brothers is Tony Brothers. You know, we all love him, so it’s all good.”
The Timberwolves will look to bounce back and even the series in Game 4, needing to clean up the late-game defensive mistakes and execution issues that Finch cited as the primary reasons for their Game 3 defeat against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.