- Mike Conley hit into Finch after evading a challenge and drifting to the sideline
- The Minnesota HC was helped back to his feet before hobbling out of the game
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Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch hobbled out of their NBA playoff win over the Phoenix Suns after a brutal collision with his own player late in the fourth quarter.
With just a few minutes to play in Phoenix, Finch was sent tumbling to the ground when Timberwolves star Mike Conley evaded a challenge from Suns’ Devin Booker and moved towards the sideline before hitting into his coach.
The 54-year-old fell instantly and looked in visible pain as Conley tried to help him back up, only for both sets of players to form a circle around him as he remained on the floor in some discomfort.
After a few minutes Finch eventually returned to his feet and limped out of the arena with an injury to his lower leg, which is now being assessed by Minnesota’s medical team.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, there are fears that he suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee as a result of the collision with Conley.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch hobbled out of their playoff win over the Suns after a brutal collision with Mike Conley
Finch was sent tumbling to the ground when Timberwolves star Mike Conley evaded a challenge and moved towards the sideline before hitting into his coach
The 54-year-old hobbled out of the arena after injuring his lower leg in the collision
Finch’s Timberwolves were leading by four points with less than two minutes remaining at the time of the collision, and they eventually held on for a 122-116 win to seal a sweep over the Suns and advance to the Conference Semifinals.
Phoenix is the first team to be dumped out of this season’s NBA playoffs after suffering a 4-0 whitewash at the hands of Minnesota, who stormed into the next round thanks to Anthony Edwards’ 40-point heroics.
