Chris Finch did not hide his frustration after the Minnesota Timberwolves fell apart late in the third quarter of a 126-97 Game 5 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Minnesota erased an 18-point deficit and tied the game at 61 early in the third quarter, but the momentum disappeared almost immediately as San Antonio ripped control of the series back and moved within one win of the Western Conference finals.
After the game, Finch pointed directly at the breakdown that changed everything.
“After I mean, we went away from what was working and then you know, our defense was just cratered,” Finch said. “We gave up 30 points I think in the last six minutes of the third quarter. A lot of it was just ball contained stuff.”
The Timberwolves struggled to stay connected defensively once Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio started attacking downhill again. Wembanyama finished with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks after scoring 18 points in the opening quarter.
Finch believed Minnesota briefly found answers offensively before the execution disappeared.
“Offensively we found stuff that was working,” Finch said. “And then we just started breaking off plays, you know, and you know, that’s my job. I got to get us back on track. That’s on me.”
The Wolves have now started slowly in consecutive games, a major issue against a Spurs team that finished the regular season 62-20 and has repeatedly punished early mistakes.
Finch acknowledged Minnesota’s shot quality has not been good enough early in games.
“We got to make some shots,” Finch said. “But better offensive decisions. I think some of our shot selection in the first quarter in particular is a little iffy. I think there’s some better shots. We’re going to have to work a little harder to find some better shots early.”
Minnesota’s offense improved briefly during the third-quarter comeback when the Timberwolves attacked the gaps in San Antonio’s defense instead of settling.
“They were super heavy in the gaps, so we did a better job of cutting the gaps and finding people and moving around the floor and respacing the floor better,” Finch said.
The matchup between Rudy Gobert and Wembanyama has become one of the defining storylines of the series, but Finch said the problems have gone beyond individual defense.
“I think he’s done a good job in the large,” Finch said about Gobert. “I think the first quarter was execution of some coverages to help him out. We blew three or four of them.”
Finch added that the second half featured similar mistakes from the Wolves collectively.
“Just kind of not executing the things we need to do around him or him executing the things he needs to do to give himself the best chance so we can help him,” Finch said.
Foul trouble also disrupted Minnesota’s rotation throughout the night. Julius Randle picked up early fouls, while Jaden McDaniels battled foul issues for most of the game.
“It was huge tonight,” Finch said. “Different guys Julius super early then Jaden all game long, you know, that certainly hurts.”
Randle finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Finch said the forward became more effective once he attacked with force instead of drifting offensively.
“I think you saw, you know, he played with force, played through contact, the first level of contact, stayed on balance a little bit better,” Finch said.
Minnesota now returns home facing elimination in Game 6 on Friday night, while San Antonio sits one victory away from a showdown with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals.
