Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch didn’t hold back after his team’s tough loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
The Timberwolves fell 116–103 in Oklahoma City after the Thunder took control in the fourth quarter, outscoring Minnesota 36–27 to seal the win. But much of the postgame conversation centered around a key foul call involving Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards late in the contest.
Edwards had been cleared to play earlier in the day and spent much of the afternoon defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, a late sequence proved costly when Edwards was called for a foul on a three-point attempt by Gilgeous-Alexander, stretching Oklahoma City’s lead from 13 points to 16.
Finch was visibly frustrated with the decision and made his feelings clear after the game.
“The first one was probably a foul. The unfortunate one was that they called the little grab on the inbound play. That’s going on everywhere every time,” Finch said. “I still maintain that he doesn’t get the amount of respect defensively that he should. If you watch their defenders play defense, they grab and hold a lot too, which is fine. It’s part of the game. Then, you call that one — whistle him right out of the game — that one was tough for us.”
Despite the controversy, Finch also pointed to areas where his team could have been better defensively, particularly when dealing with Oklahoma City’s ball movement through center Isaiah Hartenstein, who recently returned to the lineup after recovering from a calf injury.
Hartenstein made his presence felt at the top of the key, orchestrating plays, setting screens and helping open the floor for Oklahoma City’s offense. Finch acknowledged the Timberwolves struggled to deal with his impact.
“We were off him a little bit too much,” Finch added. “Then, we weren’t in a position to do an emergency help, you know. Got to battle through those screens. We know he’s a playmaker. That’s what he does. Thought a few of them were highly questionable whether they were legal or not, doesn’t matter. Got to battle through and you gotta make them miss.”
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