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Minnesota Timberwolves fans are livid over a perplexing ref's decision near the end of Game 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anthony Edwards and company, unfortunately, suffered a heartbreaking 128-126 loss at home and now find themselves down 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder were unconscious from the field down the stretch as the Timberwolves' one-two punch in Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle struggled. A furious effort from Minnesota kept the No. 6 seed in this contest till the end.
However, OKC escaped with a win and will now have the chance to close the series on their home floor. However, there was a decision towards the end of the game that seemed to make no sense from a fan and player perspective. While down two, Anthony Edwards purposely missed a free throw to give the Timberwolves a chance to get the rebound. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander caught the ball, throwing it out of bounds with 0.1 left. But upon further review, a fan clearly caught the ball out of bounds with 0.6 seconds left, which would have given the Timberwolves a chance for a catch-and-shoot play.
Unfortunately, the officials thought differently and gave Minnesota just 0.3 seconds to get up a shot, which could only be done via a tip-in. Fans were justifiably enraged by this decision on social media.
Clock gets run down to 0.1
Fan catches ball out of bounds with 0.6
Refs put time back at…0.3? pic.twitter.com/tf2P2IPngo
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) May 27, 2025
what was the point of seeing the fan catch that ball with 0.6 seconds left for them to leave 0.3 left lmao
— bball (@bball03_) May 27, 2025
0.3? Where did 0.3 come from? It was either leave it at 0.1 or put the 0.6 seconds on the clock. Someone smart tell me the ruling on that
— TownsMuse (@TownsMuse) May 27, 2025
How was it determined 0.3 seconds were on clock?
Looked like longer
— Mike Sando (@SandoNFL) May 27, 2025
The Timberwolves will have to rally as they face elimination
Overall, Minnesota did fall short in several categories on Monday night. While this group never quit and was resilient, Edwards and Randle had quiet nights, and OKC had 19 offensive rebounds and generated a staggering 21 turnovers from Minnesota. It's impressive that the Timberwolves were in this game until the end, especially with the Thunder having a stellar shooting night. But fans have a right to complain about the officiating.
It's a shame that, despite how great the NBA is as a product, the officiating is so unfortunately poor on a consistent basis. There has been more of an effort to allow more contact in these playoffs, which has improved the quality of the games, but still, the inconsistencies of the officials based on the night can be really frustrating. In addition, there are times when the refs will make rules or justifications for calls that do not make sense. There's no personal animosity here, but it would be nice if the refereeing met the standards of the incredible players on the floor.
