Chris Finch Got His Money’s Worth in Ejection for Outburst at Refs in Wolves-Thunder

Chris Finch was tossed in the first quarter as the Timberwolves took on the Thunder
Chris Finch was tossed in the first quarter as the Timberwolves took on the Thunder / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

It didn’t take long for Timberwolves coach Chris Finch to get fed up with the officiating as Minnesota took on the 25-2 Thunder at home on Friday.

Less than halfway through the first quarter at Target Center, Finch received two technical fouls, which ended his night right after it started for an outburst at the game officials after they let some early fouls go. You can watch the blow up and the sequence that led to it below, where Finch certainly got his money’s worth as he had to be restrained by his coaching staff before heading to the locker room.

Before Finch was tossed, star guard Anthony Edwards wanted a foul after he took contact on a drive to the basket. Julius Randle got the offensive rebound and went up for a second-chance attempt where he was clearly contacted as well, but no foul was called and the Thunder ran out in transition as Edwards and Finch pled their case. Play stopped and the chaos ensued.

The Wolves (17-10) have won seven of their past nine games as they try to take down the class of the NBA in the Thunder in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals. Oklahoma City suffered its second loss of the season at the hands of the Spurs on Saturday in an NBA Cup semifinal matchup following a 16-game winning streak. Minnesota will have to weather the storm without its head coach after a big blow up less than six minutes into the game.


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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.