Officiating has been a touchy subject throughout the 2024 NBA Playoffs. That didn’t change on Friday as the Denver Nuggets took on the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup.
The Nuggets crushed the Timberwolves in a 117-90 affair at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
The Timberwolves appeared frustrated with getting beaten down on their home floor. Midway through the fourth quarter, T-Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker suffered an injury while trying to fight through a Nikola Jokic screen.
Minnesota veteran Kyle Anderson felt like the referees should have called a foul on Jokic on the play. During the next dead ball, Anderson got heated as he confronted crew chief Tony Brothers about the non-call.
Kyle Anderson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were both assessed technical fouls after exchanging some words with referee Tony Brothers over this call 👀pic.twitter.com/Xo1jkdROkO
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 11, 2024
Anderson was assessed a technical foul for his outburst. Alexander-Walker, who was subbed out after the play, reportedly left the Timberwolves bench in anger over the team’s poor effort.
The Nuggets were called for 25 fouls in the contest — 5 more than the Timberwolves.
Denver took a double-digit lead in the second quarter and never looked back. The defending champs led by as many as 34 points in their first win of the series.
Anderson wasn’t the only player Friday who called out the postseason officiating. New York Knicks swingman Josh Hart felt like the referees also missed a crucial call during his own team’s playoff defeat hours earlier.
