Not even six minutes into the game, Chris Finch had enough. He went after the officials for a bunch of non-calls he thought were egregious. Eventually, it reached a boiling point when he was ejected. As the Minnesota crowd egged him on, he had to be held back by a group of staffers from going after the referees.
Bravo, Finch. The theatrics worked. The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t come up with enough big moments in their 112-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I guess the officiating crew received the message. It became a foul fest. The Timberwolves went 33-of-47 on free throws and the Thunder went 28-of-30 on free throws. The 47 free-throw attempts were the most OKC has conceded in its franchise history.
After Finch’s ejection, the Timberwolves got right back into it. Anthony Edwards finally one-upped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the court in the latest chapter of their rivalry. He drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds. On the other end, he blocked the reigning MVP’s layup attempt and ripped the ball away from him in the ensuing clutch-time possessions.
Having a chance to sleep on what happened, Finch offered his perspective on his viral ejection Saturday. He’s been the most vocal NBA figure to voice his displeasure with what the Thunder get away with. At this point, it’s a safe bet to assume a couple of postgame rants where he berates the officials about OKC.
“I definitely wanted to make my point. I thought that early on, the tone was being set in the wrong direction. Just wanted to set about trying to change things,” Finch said. “All credit to the guys. They really responded. Picked up the pieces. Staff did an incredible job of navigating that game. Most important is we got the win and our guys responded.”
Unsurprisingly, Finch thought the Thunder fouled Edwards and Julius Randle in the opening moments. Not afraid to show his true colors, it didn’t take long for him to end his night. Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori became the interim coach the rest of the way.
“I thought that particular sequence, there were multiple opportunities to make a call. Some of the ones before that, even,” Finch said. “I’ve been a little frustrated with how we were playing overall at times. Trying to give us what we need when we don’t have it.”
The Thunder and Timberwolves are always must-watch TV. Plenty of storylines are banked in when those two teams face off — even if the talent disparity is large. Finch’s latest antics is one of the reasons why you should tune in when those teams play each other.