{"id":713659,"date":"2026-04-19T04:09:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T04:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/713659\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T04:09:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T04:09:57","slug":"wolves-coach-chris-finch-calls-out-refs-says-murray-and-jokic-are-floppers-after-nuggets-game-1-win-denver-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/713659\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolves coach Chris Finch calls out refs, says Murray and Jokic are floppers after Nuggets\u2019 Game 1 win \u2013 Denver Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

DENVER \u2014 The Minnesota Timberwolves lost Game 1 on Saturday<\/a>. Their coach, Chris Finch, lost the postgame press conference, too.<\/p>\n

Jamal Murray went 16-for-16 from the free-throw line in the Nuggets\u2019 116-105 win to open their first-round series against Minnesota, and the Wolves coach didn\u2019t hide how he felt about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 16 free throws from Murray is a head-scratcher,\u201d Finch said.<\/p>\n

He kept going.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I thought we played really good defense,\u201d Finch expanded. \u201cI thought, on him, a lot of those ones in the second quarter, we were there, we were physical, we were vertical. He initiates the contact, he spills away, and he gets rewarded for it. Jokic does the same thing. We\u2019ve gotta be solid around that. But 16 free throws is a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

So to be clear: Finch is accusing Murray and Nikola Jokic of manufacturing fouls. Of initiating contact and selling it to officials. Of gaming the system.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s every foul Murray drew Saturday, cut up and compiled:<\/p>\n

Jamal Murray’s 16 FTA was a hot topic in post-game pressers after G1 in Denver.<\/p>\n

Chris Finch referred to them as a “head-scratcher” when asked about what the Wolves needed to do defensively.<\/p>\n

Here are all of the fouls the Wolves committed on Murray that led to those free throws. pic.twitter.com\/LdkxlstY2G<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch them. Of the 16 free-throw attempts, all but maybe two are clear, earned fouls, especially in today\u2019s NBA \u2014 defenders out of position as Murray drives, hands on his arms in his shooting motion, contact to his lower legs. It might be unusual for Murray in a way given he\u2019s scored 50 points in a game without shooting a free throw and Saturday\u2019s effort was a career-high for makes from the stripe. But these are fouls, Saturday, in the Finals or in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I got fouled on every single one of them,\u201d Murray said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what everybody\u2019s talking about. It\u2019s real fouls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nuggets coach David Adelman backed him quickly into his postgame comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe drew a lot of fouls in that quarter, because he got fouled a lot,\u201d Adelman said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When asked to expand on Murray\u2019s approach, Adelman pointed to something Finch\u2019s complaints conveniently ignore: Murray earned those trips to the line by attacking high-level defenders in a physical playoff game where effort was rewarded over efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust toughness,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of responsibilities with a lot of different people guarding him that are high-level defenders. (Jaden) McDaniels, he works hard. Anthony Edwards is on him. This is a challenge. He just mentally fought through it. There were timely shots that he made \u2014 midrange jump shots where they\u2019re on a run. Unbelievable free-throw shooting. Mental toughness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray finished with 30 points on 7-of-22 shooting. Without those 16 free throws, he has a rough shooting day. With them, he carried Denver through the middle of the game and set the tone for the Nuggets\u2019 comeback from a 12-point first-quarter deficit. That\u2019s what attacking the basket and drawing contact does. That\u2019s what great scoring is sometimes, getting to the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expected it to be a game like this,\u201d Anthony Edwards said about the calls. \u201cIf that\u2019s the case then we wasn\u2019t mentally ready because we knew how it was going to go and they\u2019re gonna get foul calls and we might not get none and that\u2019s okay. We gotta be ready for that and mentally prepared for it to go their way and not go our way and we should be okay with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s best player is already conceding the whistle before Game 2. Good luck to them on constructing a game plan when they\u2019re locked in on assembling excuses.<\/p>\n

Finch can call it a head-scratcher. He can imply Murray and Jokic are selling calls. But the film shows the top offense in the NBA earning trip after trip to the line because Minny\u2019s defense in decline could only answer with physicality, not solid play.<\/p>\n

Jokic shot one free throw, by the way, on a day his attack was worth 25 points on 19 shots from the field \u2014 and one bloody nose.<\/p>\n

If Finch wants fewer Murray free throws Monday night, the fix isn\u2019t working the referees from the podium. It\u2019s telling his defenders to start moving their feet when Murray gets into his motion.<\/p>\n

Game 2 is Monday night at Ball Arena, with an 8:30 p.m. tip-off.<\/p>\n

Follow @Shapalicious<\/a><\/p>\n

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