Dorian Finney-Smith on what happened between the Nets and Mike Conley

Timberwolves guard Mike Conley got into a late-game scuffle with the Nets.

© Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Brooklyn’s Dennis Schroder was displeased with Timberwolves veteran Mike Conley in the game’s final stretch between the two teams. The German guard initiated a scuffle when Conley shot a three-pointer with 25 seconds left while the scoreline was already in the Wolves’ favor.

Not shooting when the game’s already decided is an unwritten rule among players and coaches in the league. It led to Schroder shoving the Timberwolves’ starting point guard and an ensuing minor altercation. Nets veteran wing Dorian Finney-Smith had his take after the game.

Dennis Schröder was not happy after a Mike Conley late three in the T-Wolves W 😳 pic.twitter.com/dZiIhYdQQk

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 25, 2024

“Either you shoot it, or you don’t. I felt like he knew and understood why our guys were upset. He wasn’t really mad about it,” DFS said to the media after the loss to Minnesota.

The infamous unwritten rule

Most NBA players encounter this unwritten rule of not shooting the ball when the game has a lopsided scoreline. You can see this in games that end in blowouts, like the Nets’ loss to Minnesota on Saturday. Most players expect a veteran like Conley to continue that "tradition," but when he shot the ball, it left a sour taste in Schroder’s mouth.

Brooklyn is not the only team that has faced this problem, as the most prominent example from recent seasons was Zion Williamson’s 360° dunk against the Phoenix Suns, which did not resonate with Chris Paul. It was surprising because Paul did a similar thing a few years earlier against Damian Lillard’s Trail Blazers.

Conley clears the air about the situation

When asked about the scuffle with Schroder, Conley said that he wanted more context about the situation. He highlighted that he was seeing the Nets’ defensive coverage and saw he had an open shot compared to his teammates.

Mike Conley during the review for a possible technical foul on Dennis Schroder 😂

pic.twitter.com/gxyNQSIkOs

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 25, 2024

"It seemed like they were double-teaming for a second, so I thought like, ‘30 seconds on the clock, I’ll shoot it. Nobody wants to shoot it, I’ll shoot it from wherever I’m at,” Conley said after the TWolves’ win against Brooklyn. “I wasn’t really even trying to make it, but I didn’t expect all that. At that point, I thought I was going to get a tech.”

With DFS’ reaction to what happened, it looks like water is under the bridge now, but it was proof that the unwritten rule is still a contentious point around the league. 

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