Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch Showed Everyone the Perfect Way to Call Out Refs After Game 1 Win

The Timberwolves beat the Spurs 104-102 in Game 1. | Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

The Timberwolves went into San Antonio on Monday night and took Game 1 from the Spurs with a hard-fought 104-102 win. Anthony Edwards returned from a knee injury that he suffered in the first round against the Nuggets and had 18 points (including 11 in the fourth quarter) in a gutsy performance that seemed to inspire his teammates.

On the other side, Victor Wembanyana had only 11 points, but he set an NBA record for most blocks in a single playoff game with 12. His impact on the defensive end of the floor caused fits for the Timberwolves all night as he was seemingly everywhere throughout the game.

It also seemed to annoy Minnesota’s coach, Chris Finch, who felt like Wembanyama got away with a few goaltending calls. Finch addressed that after the game and found a great way to call out the refs by not addressing the refs head on. Instead of moaning about missed calls, he used the perfect blend of nonchalance and passive aggressiveness to get his message out to the masses.

Here’s his masterclass:

Chris Finch on Wemby:

"He had a lot of blocks, he had a couple of uncalled goaltendings too. Those are valuable points we'd like to have back" pic.twitter.com/0cMDSHmghY

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 5, 2026

That’s how you get a message across without sounding too upset or bothered by what might have been missed by the officials. It was just a ho-hum statement about what he saw and how it might have affected the game, and then he just moved on.

You have to think the great Phil Jackson will flash a subtle smile if he sees that clip because it was straight from his playbook.

Here are all 12 of Victor Wembanyama’s blocked shots

NBA fans during the game were quick to call out Wembanyama for getting away with what they thought were clear goaltending violations. But when you look back at them, you can see a bunch of them were good blocks, a few might have been fouls, and a couple sure looked to hit the backboard before he got a hand on them.

Take a look for yourself.

All 12 of Wemby's blocks in Game 1 🤯

Wemby just set the NBA playoffs block record 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TQTg5wW7fo

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 5, 2026

This one on a shot by Julius Randle had a lot of people up in arms, but the NBA went back and gave the block to Harrison Barnes, which negated the goaltending.

NBA has gone back and switched this from a block for Wembanyama to a block for Harrison Barnes. That would negate any kind of goaltending violation. https://t.co/kOT2W9yc9x

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 5, 2026

Did Barnes really get a piece of that one? I’ve watched it a number of times in slow-mo and it’s really hard to say he absolutely did. If he didn’t, that should have been goaltending.

What this all means for the Timberwolves-Spurs series moving forward

The big takeaway from those blocks is that it’s difficult to say with absolute certainty that all of them were clean and legal. It’s also difficult to say the he definitely got away with some goaltending calls. But Finch expertly got that narrative out there, which is something coaches always try to do during a playoff series. And he did it in a way that didn’t really throw the refs under the bus. Will the NBA fine him for that? It’s still possible, but it sure felt like he worded his concerns in a way that got right up to the line but didn’t cross it.

He also was able to do it after a win, which was huge for Minnesota. We’ll have to see if the refs keep a closer eye on Wembanyama’s defensive efforts going forward.

Game 2 is Wednesday in San Antonio.

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