During the late fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, Minnesota coach Chris Finch collided with Timberwolves guard Mike Conley and had to be helped off the court.
Conley was dribbling down the sideline when he accidentally bumped into Suns star Devin Booker and collided with Finch. Finch seemed to hurt his right knee as Conley tried to soften their fall. He winced in pain and immediately grabbed his right knee.
After being down for a few minutes, surrounded by Minnesota players, coaches, and staff, Finch slowly got up with assistance and left the court.
Despite the incident, Minnesota won the game 122-116, completing a sweep of the first-round series.
Assistant coach Micah Nori took over for the final 1:41 of the game. Nori mentioned that Finch was being checked out in the medical room and that the team visited him after the game.
“He’s obviously in good spirits and so are the guys,” Nori added.
Conley admitted he didn’t see Finch until the last moment and tried to support him after the collision. The veteran guard couldn’t resist cracking a joke or two about the coach after their victory.
“I told him to sit his (butt) down — he shouldn’t be standing up like that late in the game,” Conley joked. “He’s in the way. But prayers up for him, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
