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[Saba Sports News] Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch had a pointed response for the Los Angeles Lakers following their complaints about officiating in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.
After Minnesota’s 116-113 win on Sunday at Target Center to take a 3-1 series lead, Lakers head coach JJ Redick voiced frustration over what he believed was a missed foul on a late-game play where Luka Doncic tripped over Jaden McDaniels. LeBron James also expressed disagreement with a reviewed call that awarded Anthony Edwards two free throws after James hit his wrist in the final seconds.
Asked about the Lakers’ officiating gripes on Tuesday, Finch pushed back.
“In any series, on any possession, there’s going to be calls that go your way and calls that don’t,” Finch said, per Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. “We haven’t made this series about whistles. Even when Game 1 started and the Lakers didn’t get called for a foul for 20 minutes—which is unheard of—we didn’t complain. We just played.”
Finch emphasized that officiating swings are part of the game and that his team is staying focused on controlling what it can.
“Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t. You could call a foul on nearly every possession if you wanted to,” he added. “We’ve developed the mindset to play through it and concentrate on the things that bring us success.”
Finch was referring to their dominant Game 1 win, where despite being called for more than twice as many fouls as the Lakers (21-10), the Timberwolves still won convincingly, 117-95.
While the Lakers are frustrated over a few late calls, Finch made it clear that he’s not buying into that narrative—especially when the full 48 minutes of basketball are taken into account. His message: keep playing and quit blaming the refs.