Chris Finch said referee Tony Brothers ignored his timeout request and reacted unprofessionally during their heated exchange in Game 3, while Anthony Edwards brushed it off as part of the game's competitive emotions.
The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-108 in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead.
But the game's intensity boiled over in the fourth quarter when veteran referee Tony Brothers got into a heated confrontation with Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch.
Brothers was seen arguing with Finch during a stoppage, with Minnesota players stepping in to separate the two as tensions escalated.
"I wanted the timeout, and I said I want my 3 seconds back. He clearly heard me. He looked my way and ignored me, went on with the play, almost cost us a turnover. He lost it," Finch explained the moment in the post-game conference.
"Then I went to ask him where the ball was going to be taken in, and he was screaming at me for that. So, completely unprofessional behavior by him."
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards downplayed the incident afterward.
"It's competition at the highest level," Edwards said. "We want to win. Finchy wants to win. Tony Brothers is Tony Brothers. We all love him, so it's all good here."
Former NBA star Blake Griffin criticized the referee's actions during Prime's postgame coverage.
"I mean, I thought that was completely wrong," he said. "At a certain point – I know officiating is an incredibly hard job and everybody's always mad at you – but I've never seen an official go at a coach like that. To be honest, I thought Tony was out of line.
"I think an official's job, though, is to de-escalate," Griffin added. "Like, coaches coach, players play, everybody's got their roles."
"In the heat of the emotion, you can yell one time at each other and then both go your separate ways, but keep following, then Finchy came back, and then Tony Brothers came back, and it's too much," Dirk Nowitzki said. "It's a distraction we don't need. It was too much and probably wrong on both sides."
Game 4 will also be played in Minnesota.
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