Chris Finch, Jaden McDaniels ejected in Timberwolves win at Suns | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

Chris Finch, Jaden McDaniels ejected in Timberwolves win at Suns

Head coach Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts after being ejected by referee CJ Washington #12 during the second half of the NBA game at Footprint Center on January 29, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. ((Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images))

The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Phoenix Suns 121-113 Wednesday night, earning their fourth straight win to improve to 26-21 and start creeping up the Western Conference Standings.

The highlights of the night were Chris Finch getting ejected in the third quarter, and Jaden McDaniels getting the boot late in regulation for vastly different reasons. For Finch, it was his first career ejection.

Finch got a technical foul in the first quarter, then got tossed with about five minutes left in the third quarter. After the officials were at the scorer’s table clarifying the score, referee C.J. Williams gave Finch a look. Finch looked at him and said, "I didn’t say anything, I was talking to him (Bradley Beal)."

Finch then looked away, muttered something and Washington ejected him. Finch then got in his face and said, "That’s bull***t! You’ve been in my s**t all f*****g night!" Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley Jr. had to hold him back before was escorted off the court.

The NBA's pool report says Finch used derogatory comments directed towards all of the officials.

After his ejection, the Timberwolves out-scored the Suns 51-41 the rest of the game and led by as many as 16 in the fourth quarter.

Players said Finch’s anger carried over from Monday night’s poor effort in a win over the Hawks, and he was salty in a film session before Wednesday’s game.

‘He woke up choosing violence’

What the players are saying: Timberwolves’ reporter Dane Moore posted a series of videos with player reaction after Wednesday’s win. 

Julius Randle: "You should’ve seen him (Wednesday) morning. Finch is an extremely smart guy, there’s a method to the madness so you just try not to take it personal. Listen to what he’s saying and just go respond."

Nickeil Alexander-Walker: "Finch doesn’t care. He woke up choosing violence. It was needed, it was timely and as you could see, it was the right thing,"

Anthony Edwards: "I think he went to sleep last night with violence on his mind. The way he did us in film, particularly me, it was a tough day."

McDaniels’ ejection

What happened: Jaden McDaniels was ejected with less than two minutes to play after putting his finger on Devin Booker’s temple and pushing him away. That’s after Booker faked unloading a gun clip on him on the other end of the floor.

There’s no love lost between the Timberwolves and Suns, going back to last year in the playoffs. Booker bumped Conley into Finch, causing Finch to tear the patellar tendon in his knee.

What's next

The schedule: The Timberwolves are one game out of the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference and have a five-game home stand, starting against the Washington Wizards Saturday night.

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