Timberwolves coach Chris Finch yells at referee Tony Brothers after his team’s Game 3 loss to the Spurs.
Finch called Brother’s behavior on the field “completely unprofessional.”
Brothers, the veteran NBA referee, and Finch had a heated exchange during the timeout.
Minnesota Timberwolves coach Finch when players and staff separated the two while Anthony Edwards pulled Finch away
After both collided, a reporter asked Finch, saying, “I’m not sure I’ve seen players hold back a referee from their head coach before…”, to which Finch replied, “Pretty unprofessional, huh?”.
He then launched a verbal attack on Brothers.
Finch explained that he became upset at what he perceived as a deliberate delay in being awarded a timeout.
“I wanted a timeout. I had called it 3 seconds earlier and I wanted a timeout,” Finch said.
“I said ‘I want my 3 seconds back’ … because he clearly heard me. He looked my way, ignored me, continued with the play … almost cost us a turnover.
“Then, and then you know, he dropped it.”
“Then I went to ask him where the ball was going to go in and he screamed at me for it. Such completely unprofessional behavior from him.”
On the other hand, in a postgame interview, Edwards downplayed the incident after the game, saying it’s all part of “competition at the highest level.”
“We want to win. Finchy wants to win. Tony Brothers is Tony Brothers, we all love him so it’s all good here,” Edwards added.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards posted 32 points, but Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama scored 39 to guide the team to a 115-108 triumph with a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4 of the Western Conference NBA playoffs will be played tomorrow, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Minneapolis.
