Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch is telling the Los Angeles Lakers, “Two can play at that game.”
Finch’s Timberwolves prevailed on Sunday in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against the Lakers, winning 116-113 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. to take a commanding 3-1 lead. After the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick complained about what he saw as a missed foul call when Luka Doncic tripped on Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels in the final minute of the fourth quarter (video here).
LeBron James also disagreed with a subsequent call in the final 10 seconds of the game during which he hit the wrist of Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, resulting in two free throws for Edwards upon review.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Finch was asked about the Lakers’ gripes regarding the officiating and fired back with some counterpoints of his own.
“I mean, listen, any series, any possession, any time down the floor, if you’ve watched this playoffs, there’s a foul that’s called or not called,” Finch said, per Chris Hine of the Minnesota Star Tribune. “That’s just the way it’s been. I don’t feel the need to have any hand-wringing about missed calls right now. We’ve not made this series about any calls, any whistles or any things that have gone against us or for us – even when they started Game 1 and they didn’t call a foul on the Lakers for 20 minutes, which is unheard of.
“We’re not worried about it,” added Finch. “We’re just gonna play. Sometimes it’s going to go for you, sometimes it’s going to go against you, but if you’ve watched the playoffs, you can call a foul literally every possession and then some they call and some they don’t. We have to develop a tough mindset, play through it all, and keep focusing on things that we know can help bring us success.”
Finch was referencing his team’s Game 1 victory over the Lakers on Apr. 19. During that game, the Timberwolves were whistled for over twice as many fouls as the Lakers were (21 to 10) but still managed to win convincingly by a 117-95 final score.
When teams fall short, it is easy to point the finger at one or two calls that seemingly changed the momentum of the game but ignore the other 47-plus minutes of action that led to the score being that close in the first place. Other NBA head coaches have even accused the referees of being biased in favor of the Lakers before, so Finch isn’t taking the grievances from the purple and gold here all that seriously.
