Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch voiced his concerns about the officiating after the loss to the Thunder.
The Minnesota Timberwolves lost 130-123 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a disappointing loss for the Timberwolves given how well they played.
Anthony Edwards had a strong performance with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Naz Reid continued his strong showings in Julius Randle‘s absence, with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks.
But it wasn’t enough to combat a very game Oklahoma City Thunder. This loss sets the Timberwolves back, who now sit seventh in the Western Conference with a 31-27 record.
However, the loss wasn’t entirely down to the Thunder being better, at least according to Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch.
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Speaking in the post-game press conference, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch talked about the officiating in the game.
He noted that against a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder, which plays a very physical brand of basketball, having the officials give them a lot of calls makes things very difficult.
“Obviously I was frustrated with the referees too. We gotta try and refocus. It’s a tough team to play, Oklahoma City.”
“They’re very physical on one end. And on the other end, they seemingly create a lot of contact offensively and benefit from that. It can be frustrating.”
“I thought at times, early in the game, and again in the third quarter, it was tough out there for us. Just gotta try and make the next play.”
The Timberwolves committed 22 personal fouls during the game and went to the free-throw line 28 times. By contrast, the Thunder only got to the free-throw line 20 times.
So it is hard to see where Finch is coming from, given that they seemed to benefit from the whistle more than the Thunder.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference last year. However, things have changed massively since they traded Karl-Anthony Towns away.
Anthony Edwards tried claiming that both the Knicks and Timberwolves won the Towns trade. But given where the Timberwolves are at this point in the season, it is hard to agree with him.
Right now, the Timberwolves are the seventh seed in the West. While they might reach the play-in tournament, any hopes of them making it beyond that are low.
Edwards is by far their best player, but the rest of the team around him isn’t as good, no matter what any of them say.
