Tensions were high when the Minnesota Timberwolves faced the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. But things got a little overboard when Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was ejected after he charged down the court. On Sunday, the NBA revealed that Finch has been slapped with a hefty fine for directing inappropriate language towards the officials.

The league put a $35,000 fine on Finch for the act. The incident happened six minutes into the start of the game, which the Timberwolves eventually won 112-107. Finch was not happy with a no-call after Julius Randle was stripped off the ball following an offensive rebound. Minnesota also didn’t get a whistle from the officials earlier in Anthony Edwards‘ layup attempt.

Chris Finch was livid with the decisions as he stormed down the court, and the play was immediately called dead. It required four Timberwolves coaching staff members to hold him back from confronting the officials as Edwards was seen arguing about the questionable call with the referees.

During the Ficasso, the HC was seen constantly running his mouth and pointing fingers at the referees. He eventually went into the locker room to loud cheers from the Minnesota crowd as they continued their protest against the referees throughout the game. However, Finch’s ejection from the game probably fueled the fire in the Timberwolves as they started playing with more conviction.

It felt like the incident had galvanized the team into one as they secured an important win against the reigning NBA champions. While the OKC Thunder have been extremely dominant in recent years, there’s been a lot of chatter around them getting favorable calls from the referees.

Anthony Edwards credits Chris Finch’s energy following the statement win

The Thunder have been the benchmark since the last season when they won the NBA Championship. Also heading into this game in Minneapolis, OKC had suffered only two defeats this season. So, it was a big achievement for the Minnesota Timberwolves. More so, if your coach gets ejected within the first six minutes of the game.

However, Anthony Edwards felt it was a galvanizing moment for the entire Timberwolves roster as they looked extremely competitive following Finch’s energy. “We fed off Finchy’s energy,” Edwards said following the win, and even joked that he is ready to pay the fine for his coach.

Even the Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori, who stepped into Finch’s shoes for the remainder of the game, also shared the same thing. “I know coach Finch didn’t want to get kicked out right there. But that really got us going.”

It was a great night for Edwards as he returned after a three-game absence due to a foot injury. But he never looked like he was gone as he recorded 26 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists while shooting 50% from three.

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Apart from Rudy Gobert (nine points), all the other starters for the Timberwolves recorded double-digit points, while Naz Reid and Bones Hyland also stepped up from the bench.

The home team had the most complete game of the season, and hence they got the better of the reigning champions. They finished the game with more rebounds than the Thunder, 57-52, while also outscoring them in second-chance points 29-18. They also restricted them to 37% shooting from the floor and 28% from deep.