The Minnesota Timberwolves completed their first sweep in the first round over the Phoenix Suns with a 122-116 win on Sunday, but it wasn’t all the excitement for the victors.
Chris Finch Suffers Major Injury In Win
The Timberwolves commented after the game that their head coach Chris Finch had ruptured his patellar tendon in his right knee. It was initially reported that Finch had suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee from a late-game collision with point guard Mike Conley on the sidelines. Finch was lifted off the floor and escorted back off the court, and his assistant coach Micah Nori foresaw the game on his behalf to the very end.
“They’re evaluating him now, We’re not sure. It’s kind of like hockey, lower-body injury, right?” Nori told reporters after the win.
The Timeline To The Incident
The incident took place in the final minutes when Mike Conley ran into Phoenix’s point guard Devin Booker. That led him to collide into Finch. The coach then immediately grabbed his knee and stayed on the floor in the immediate aftermath. He was down for a few minutes, surrounded by Minnesota players, coaches and technical staff. He was then slowly helped to getting up on his feet and being assisted off the court.
“He’s obviously in good spirits and so are the guys,” Micah Nori added.
Mike Conley stated that he didn’t get to see his coach Chris Finch until the game ended last night. The veteran guard went ahead and made a light moment joke or two at the Chris’ expense. “I told him to sit his (butt) down — he shouldn’t be standing up like that late in the game,” Conley said. “He’s in the way. But prayers up for him, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Good Game For The Timberwolves
Anthony Edwards was unstoppable on the way to 40 points. He ended with nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal. That was on 13-of-23 shooting from the floor and 7-of-13 shooting from deep. He had just nine points at halftime but put his team on his back for extended stretches. He was the best player on the floor in the winning moments.
The Timberwolves will get to go one on one and play with the winner of the qualifier series between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers in the second round as their head coach recovers from the injury. For now, they will enjoy sweeping the Suns and causing a whirlwind of chaos for Phoenix this offseason.
