MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch called it "completely unprofessional behavior" for official Tony Brothers to confront him on two occasions during a fourth-quarter stoppage Friday night.
With about 5:12 remaining in the Timberwolves' 115-108 Game 3 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Finch tried to call a timeout to reset a sloppy offensive possession. Brothers, standing near Finch at the half-court line, didn't grant the timeout until the 5:09 mark as Finch stomped onto the court in displeasure.
"I [told him] 'I want my three seconds back,'" Finch said. "He clearly heard me [call a timeout]. He looked my way, ignored me, went on with the play. Almost cost us a turnover."
Brothers, who didn't appear to appreciate Finch's demonstrative reaction, walked toward the Minnesota huddle to share a few retaliatory words. Timberwolves center Naz Reid intercepted Brothers and temporarily broke up the argument.
But Finch went back to talk to Brothers a few moments later, telling reporters postgame he wanted to ask Brothers where the basketball would be inbounded and Brothers again advanced toward Finch and the two had words.
"He lost it," Finch said.
Timberwolves guard Bones Hyland and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni stopped Brothers before he got all the way to Finch and eventually the interaction cooled. Anthony Edwards was standing next to Finch during the final stages of the yelling match.
"Competition at the highest level," Edwards said. "We wanna win. Finchy wanna win. Tony Brothers is Tony Brothers. We all love him."
This was the second straight night in the NBA playoffs that an exchange with an official entered the spotlight. Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves called an interaction with official John Goble "disrespectful" in a Game 2 loss in Oklahoma City on Thursday night.
The back-and-forth between Finch and Brothers was just part of what materialized into a disappointing night for the Timberwolves.
In front of an energized home crowd, Minnesota failed to make a shot for nearly seven minutes to open a highly anticipated Game 3, falling into a 14-1 hole against the 62-win Spurs.
The Timberwolves eventually responded. Edwards scored 12 points in the final 2:08 of the first quarter to jolt Minnesota. The score was tied 51-51 at halftime. It was 102-100 when Finch called that timeout in the middle of the fourth quarter.
"Competition at the highest level. We wanna win. Finchy wanna win. Tony Brothers is Tony Brothers. We all love him." Anthony Edwards
But the Spurs closed behind a dominant performance from Victor Wembanyama, who finished with 39 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.
The Timberwolves had plenty of opportunities. They had 15 offensive rebounds and took 14 more shots -- 99 to 85 -- than the Spurs, but made only 38% of them, struggling to finish over Wembanyama's disruptive length.
Two of the Timberwolves' most important scorers, Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels, shot a combined 8-of-34 from the field.
The loss was the first for the Timberwolves at home in these playoffs, delivering home court back to the Spurs, who lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday night in Minneapolis.