Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described Tony Brothers’ actions as “pretty unprofessional” following the confrontation.
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The physical battle in Friday’s Game 3 between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves brought high emotions, and that included the designated mediator—veteran NBA official Tony Brothers.
With just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Brothers became involved in a heated argument with Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. The dispute nearly escalated into a physical confrontation, but Wolves staffers stepped in to restrain Brothers.
Minnesota was trailing by two points when Finch attempted to call a timeout. He grew frustrated when Brothers did not immediately grant it, and the official responded with equal intensity. During the timeout, the two continued their spirited exchange and had to be separated. Brothers, in his 32nd season officiating, was seen stepping aggressively toward Finch before being held back.
“Pretty unprofessional, huh,” Finch said with a laugh during his postgame news conference.
“Yeah, I wanted a timeout,” Finch explained. “I had called it three seconds earlier, and I wanted the timeout, and I said I want my three seconds back. Because he clearly heard me. He flipped my way, ignored me, went on with the play and almost caused us a turnover. And then, he lost it. Then, I asked him where we were taking the ball in, and he was screaming at me for that.”
Entering this season, his 32nd in the NBA, Brothers had officiated 1,804 regular-season games and 216 playoff games, including 19 NBA Finals games. In The Athletic’s 2023 anonymous player poll, he was voted the best referee by players, receiving 28.8 percent of the votes.
“He always talks s— to us,” one player said at the time. “He interacts with us instead of taking everything personally. He’d be like, ‘Sit your ass down, you know you fouled him.’”
Prime analyst Blake Griffin sharply criticized Brothers’ conduct.
“I’ve never seen an official go at a coach like that,” Griffin said on Prime’s “NBA Nightcap.” “And then to go at it again? To be honest, I thought Tony was out of line.”
The Spurs secured a 115-108 victory at Target Center in Minneapolis, taking a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals. At the time of the incident, Minnesota trailed 102-100. Over the final five minutes, San Antonio closed the game on a 13-8 run.
“It’s competition at the highest level,” Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said. “We want to win. Finchy want to win. Tony Brothers is Tony Brothers. We all love him, so it’s all good.”
