Overview
- The confrontation, which erupted Friday with 5:09 left in the fourth quarter, began after Finch said his timeout request was ignored for about three seconds.
- Video showed Brothers stepping toward the Timberwolves bench as players and staff, including Naz Reid, Bones Hyland and assistant Pablo Prigioni, held him back.
- No technical foul was called during the exchange in a 102-100 game, and Minnesota lost 115-108 as San Antonio moved ahead 2–1 in the series.
- Finch said he told Brothers, “I want my three seconds back,” and later called the referee’s conduct “completely unprofessional,” while Anthony Edwards downplayed the dust-up as normal playoff intensity.
- Brothers is a long-tenured official with NBA Finals assignments, and because a referee being physically restrained is unusual, several outlets noted the league could review the incident before Sunday’s Game 4 in Minneapolis.