A Minnesota Timberwolves fan sitting courtside on Monday got a little too close to the action.
The Timberwolves trailed the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-125 with 3.5 seconds left in Western Conference Finals Game 4 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The Thunder intentionally fouled Anthony Edwards to send him to the free throw line.
With no timeouts remaining and minimal time left on the clock, Edwards was forced to make the first but intentionally miss the second. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chased down the rebound and threw the ball toward the other side of the court. The ball went out of bounds along the sideline, right into the hands of a courtside fan.
FAN JUST CAUGHT THE BALL AND HELPED THE TIMBERWOLVES HAVE A CHANCE 😭
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) May 27, 2025
THIS IS INSANE. pic.twitter.com/mZ1NKSRwqJ
The incident was interesting, to say the least. The clock would have likely hit zero had the fan not been there to stop the ball a split second early. The fan appeared to catch the ball with about 0.6 left on the game clock. After initially having the clock set at 0.1, referees eventually gave Minnesota 0.3 seconds for a chance at a tip-in off the inbound.
The Thunder were able to prevent a lob to seal a 128-126 win in Game 4. But had the Timberwolves pulled off a miraculous shot to force overtime, the fan could have been a part of a critical moment in NBA conference finals history. He would have been Minnesota’s reverse Steve Bartman.
