Timberwolves coach Chris Finch calls out at the referee Tony Brothers following his team’s Game 3 defeat to the Spurs.
Finch termed Brother’s conduct on-court as “completely unprofessional.”
Brothers, the veteran NBA referee, and Finch had a heated exchange during timeout.
Minnesota Timberwolves coach Finch, as players and staff separated the two, while Anthony Edwards pulled Finch away
After both clashed, a reporter asked Finch, saying, “I’m not sure I’ve seen players hold a referee back from their head coach before…,” to which Finch responded, “Pretty unprofessional, huh?”.
He then launched a verbal attack on Brothers.
Finch explained he got upset over what he perceived as an intended delay in being granted a timeout.
“I wanted the timeout. I had called it 3 seconds earlier and I wanted the timeout,” Finch said.
“I said ‘I want my 3 seconds back,’… because he clearly heard me. He looked my way, ignored me, went on with the play… almost cost us a turnover.
“So, and then you know, he lost it.”
“Then I went to ask him where the ball was going to be taken in and he screamed at me for that. So, completely unprofessional behavior by him.”
On the other hand, in a postgame interview, Edwards played down 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,” added Edwards.
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 of the NBA playoffs is set to be played tomorrow, Sunday, May 10, 2026, at Minneapolis.
