Just minutes before completing a sweep of the 6-seed Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch crumpled to the ground after a collision on the sidelines and subsequently needed help getting back to the locker room.
With 1:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, point guard Mike Conley was fouled by Devin Booker as he neared Minnesota’s bench. As a result of the nudge, Conley was unable to avoid his coach. Finch’s pain was evident immediately as the coach clutched his knee and could be seen cursing on replays of the incident.
After the game, the Timberwolves shared that Finch had ruptured his patellar tendon in his right knee. The injury will require surgery and a lengthy rehab. While Finch is set for a painful few months, his team accomplished something that hasn’t been seen within the franchise for two decades.
Before last night’s sweep, the Wolves hadn’t won a series in 20 years. In 2004, MVP Kevin Garnett led the Wolves to a 58-24 regular season and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Minnesota defeated Denver in five games to begin the playoffs and took down Sacramento in seven games to advance to the Conference Finals — that was the last series win until last night. In the WCF, Minnesota fell to the Kobe-Shaq-Malone-Payton Lakers in six games.
Just hours before his unfortunate injury, Finch was announced as the third-place vote-getter for the NBA Coach of the Year. It remains to be seen whether Finch will be on the sidelines for Minnesota’s next series.
