The Timberwolves vs. Thunder matchup took a chaotic turn just minutes after tipoff, setting the tone for a night no one inside Target Center expected. Anthony Edwards, back in action after missing three games, wasted no time making his presence felt—though not initially on the scoreboard. His return began with a heated exchange with officials over a no-call, and while Edwards was locked into that argument, absolute mayhem unfolded behind him.

By the five-minute mark of the first quarter, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch had already been ejected. Finch stormed onto the court twice, unleashing a barrage of expletives at the officiating crew. Within seconds, he was hit with two technical fouls and sent to the locker room, needing to be physically restrained by Wolves staffers as his frustration boiled over.

Edwards, unaware of the full scene until after the fact, later admitted he was “happy” to see his coach standing up for the team. And even without Finch on the sidelines, Minnesota responded the right way. The Wolves regrouped, matched Oklahoma City’s intensity, and ultimately handed the Thunder just their third loss of the season with a 112–107 home win.

After finishing with 26 points, Edwards addressed the moment head-on in his postgame interview with Allie Clifton, offering his candid reaction to Finch’s ejection and the emotional spark it provided the team.

“It was electric,” he said about the intensity of the competition. “The fans brought the energy. Coach brought the energy in the first quarter when he got thrown out, and we had to respond.” However, the coach’s energy might not go without attention.

Given the nature of the aggression, a fine of thousands is almost certain for the Wolves HC. Just recently, Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka was fined $25,000 for criticizing the officiating after their loss against the Nuggets. Similarly, in 2024, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was fined $35000, and Doc Rivers of the Bucks was fined $25,000 for similar reasons.

That was the demure answer. In the locker room later, he was asked if he appreciated the head coach going to bat for them like that. This time, the 24-year-old had a more emphatic answer. “F—— with that… that’s my guy.”

He first said, “I was happy…” that happened but clarified further. “I wasn’t happy that he got thrown out of the game but I was happy. If I would have saw him going back at the referee the second time, I probably would’ve come back. I didn’t see him in time.”

Ant apparently blames himself for Finch’s ejection. Who knows what makes him think that, because he couldn’t have prevented that.

Why did Chris Finch get ejected?

OKC had squashed the Timberwolves’ 2025 title chances at the Western Conference Finals. And Chris Finch had been mad about the defending champs and their foul-heavy defense since.

As it tends to go against the Thunder, the game was aggressive from the start. Five minutes in, Ant was blocked on an attempted layup, and there was no whistle. Finch was mad about it on the sidelines because of that.

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Right after that, OKC’s Isaiah Hartenstein seems to slap the ball out of Julius Randle’s hand on an offensive rebound. So at this point, Finch is pacing on the side, and commentators note he is “incensed.”

While Anthony Edwards was arguing with the refs to call the foul, things happened behind his back. Finch had rushed into the court to argue with the crew chief, Courtney Kirkland. Upon his first technical, he upped his tirade. There was no audio, but apparently, he had some choice words to say.

The attention was diverted from Edwards and his plea because of Finch, who had to be held back by four people. He got two techs and was sent away huffing and puffing. Assistant coach Micah Nori took over for Finch.

At a superficial glance, there was nothing Ant could’ve done to prevent that. Finch is known to lose his temper at officials. This is only his second career ejection. The last one was in January when he called officials “bozos.”

But Finch did have an impact on his players because of that. Naz Reid also appreciated their coach’s fiery support. So at least some good came out of it.