DENVER (AP) — Timberwolves coach Chris Finch hasn't gotten over the free-throw disparity in his team's series-opening loss to the Denver Nuggets.
“Maybe we ought to start flopping, too,” Finch said before Game 2 on Monday night.
More specifically, he was agitated about Jamal Murray going 16 for 16 from the free-throw line. Finch called Murray's 16 attempts a “head scratcher” after Minnesota's 116-105 loss Saturday, when the Wolves shot 19 free throws.
Murray said after the game he didn't know what the fuss was all about because he was repeatedly fouled by the physical Timberwolves.
“What do you want me to say? They weren't all fouls. Some of them were fouls,” Finch said Monday. “The league's in a place right now where you draw the contact, and you spill away, and you get rewarded. Guys who try to play through contact, that first level of contact, and stay with the drive and all that, they tend not to be rewarded.”
His standout players Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards fit into that category, suggested Finch.
“Julius is not a flopper. Ant is not a flopper,” Finch said. “Those are physical drivers. They play through the first line of contact a lot.”
Asked if players in the league get coached to embellish contact, Finch responded: “We don’t coach it. Certainly guys figure out how to game the game. These guys are smart. They’re incredibly talented, skilled guys, have a ton of body control, ball skill, so they’re just playing to what the officials are allowing them to do.”
Finch added he's “not sure how to answer that to our guys, sometimes, when they get frustrated. But we've got to do a better job.”
Nuggets David Adelman pointed out that some of Murray's trips to the line were because of flagrant and technical fouls by Minnesota in a physical Game 1.
“It’s the playoffs,” Adelman said. “Everybody politicks after games.”
It's a different officiating crew for Game 2.
“That's the cool part about officiating, in all sports, is that every game is kind of unique to itself, and you have to react to what those six eyes see,” Adelman said. “It changes every night.
“I do think sometimes when you watch the film, you just say, ‘Yeah, that guy got fouled.’ There are nights, believe me, we play ... somebody who shoots a lot of free throws, I don’t go back to the clips and say, ‘I can’t believe we got all those calls.’ I go, ‘Why are we fouling them so much?’”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, left, tries to block a shot by Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray in the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dan Vladar stopped 27 shots, rookie Porter Martone scored for the second straight game and the Philadelphia Flyers shut out Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series.
The 19-year-old Martone became the sixth-youngest player in NHL history to score in each of his first two playoff games when he beat Stuart Skinner deep into the second period to put Philadelphia in front. Garnet Hathaway added a short-handed goal a few minutes later, and Luke Glendening chipped in an empty-netter late in the third.
Vladar made it stand up as the red-hot Flyers, who needed a scorching finishing stretch just to reach the playoffs, frustrated the suddenly offensively challenged Penguins all night.
“He’s been like that all year for us,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said of Vladar. “Guys enjoy playing for him.”
Game 3 is Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh, the NHL's third-highest scoring team during a resurgent regular season, again struggled to get pucks on net against Vladar. The Penguins, who had just 17 shots in a Game 1 loss on Saturday night, vowed to come out with more jump.
While Pittsburgh controlled long swaths of the game after another slow start, including sustained pressure in the third, it could not find a way to slip the puck past Vladar.
“(We) should be frustrated, we just lost two games at home,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. "But with frustration it’s how are you going to respond. ... Nobody is happy. Nobody should be.”
The 28-year-old Vladar, who had never won a playoff game in his six-year career before this series, held firm as the Flyers headed home with momentum.
Pittsburgh shuffled its top two lines midway through the game looking for a jolt. While it created more opportunities, it did not result in more goals. The Penguins went 0 for 5 on the power play to fall to 0 for 7 with the man advantage during the series.
Stuart Skinner made 20 saves for the Penguins, including a couple of breakaways that could have broken things open, but it wasn't against the young Flyers, who seem to be gaining confidence with each passing game.
Martone, who was playing collegiately at Michigan State last month, scored his fifth goal in 10 games as a pro when a rebound off a Travis Konecny shot came right to his stick. Martone powered it into the open net to put Philadelphia in front with 6:21 to go in the second.
“I made this jump because I believed I could help this hockey team,” Martone said. "I hopped on a moving train and it’s been good ever since.”
The Flyers were on the penalty kill just over four minutes later when they doubled their lead. Owen Tippett fought off a pair of Penguins to keep the puck in the Pittsburgh zone and then fed Hathaway, who deposited it into the open net on a night the only place Philadelphia dominated was the scoreboard.
“Sometimes in the playoffs you have to win those ugly games,” Tocchet said. "It was an ugly game for us. ... Sometimes you’ve got to win games like that.”
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) celebrates with Porter Martone (94) after time ran out in Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins' Noel Acciari (55) and Philadelphia Flyers' Matvei Michkov (39) tangle in front of the net during the first period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (71) has a shot deflected by Philadelphia Flyers' Cam York (8) in front of Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) during the first period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) checks Philadelphia Flyers' Rasmus Ristolainen (55) in front of Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner, center bottom, during the first period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) blocks a shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Rasmus Ristolainen (55) during the first period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Philadelphia Flyers' Garnet Hathaway celebrates after scoring during the second period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
