Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch reveals he had warned his players not to get rattled by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s foul-baiting.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dribbles the ball down the court against the Denver Nuggets in the second half during game seven of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s foul-baiting has been a big talking point this season, and that has been the case again after the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 114-88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1. The Timberwolves players seemed upset about it all night, and their head coach, Chris Finch, admitted postgame that they were.

“Yeah, there was a lot of frustration out there,” Finch said. “… We talked about that before the series started, and we have to be able to kind of put that to the side, get on with the next play mentality.”

Gilgeous Alexander had 31 points (10-27 FG), five rebounds, nine assists, and three steals in Game 1. The three-time All-Star made more free throws than field goals, finishing 11-14 from the line. Those 14 free throw attempts were at least twice as many as any other player, with Anthony Edwards having the second-most at seven.

Edwards appeared to be frustrated with Gilgeous-Alexander’s antics fairly early in the game. He tossed the ball at the Canadian as he lay on the floor after drawing a foul in the first quarter and was given a technical.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Edwards has been frustrated by the calls that Gilgeous-Alexander gets. Following a 102-97 loss to the Thunder back in January 2024, Edwards stated they are tough to beat because you can’t touch Gilgeous-Alexander.

“It’s hard to with the calls that Shai gets,” Edwards said. “It’s hard to shut them down. You can’t touch him any time of the game. It’s super hard to beat. That team is a good team, especially when they’re getting calls like that.”

Fast forward to February 2025, and Finch had similar complaints about Gilgeous-Alexander.

“It’s so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton,” Finch stated. “They really do. They foul, they foul all the time. And then you can’t really touch Shai. It’s a very frustrating thing, and it takes a lot of mental toughness to play through it.”

Chris Finch rips Timberwolves after lackluster second half against Hawks

 

It’s important to note that Finch made these comments after the Timberwolves beat the Thunder 131-128 in overtime. This wasn’t a case of a head coach being salty after a loss, but of one being genuinely frustrated about what he had seen after Gilgeous-Alexander shot 17 free throws.

This explains why Finch told his players before the Western Conference Finals that they’ll have to put any and all frustrations to the side regarding the calls that Gilgeous-Alexander might get. It’s not something within their control, and they need to focus on playing their game.

While Gilgeous-Alexander’s drawing all those fouls hurt the Timberwolves, that wasn’t the biggest reason they lost. It was their second-half offense that cost them this game at Paycom Center and led them to fall down 1-0.

The Timberwolves led 60-56 midway through the third quarter but then just fell apart offensively. They scored only six more points in the rest of the period to finish with just 18 points in it.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Stats, Age, Height, & Basketball | Britannica

The Timberwolves got off to a decent start offensively in the fourth quarter, but then scored just four points in the final five minutes. They struggled to find solutions against that vaunted Thunder defense, and it will be interesting to see what adjustments are made moving forward.

Game 2 between the Thunder and Timberwolves will be at the Paycom Center on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.