T-Wolves' Finch after ejections in loss to OKC: We need to be 'way more mature'

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said his players let their emotions get the best of them during Saturday's 135-128 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"The frustrations boiled over," Finch said, according to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski. "It was not the most mature effort by us. We needed a way more mature effort than that. We needed to do the little things better like take care of the ball and make the next rotation on defense. I mean, that's what cost us the game."

Starters Rudy Gobert and D'Angelo Russell were both ejected in the defeat. The former committed a flagrant-2 foul in the second quarter, tripping Thunder forward Kenrich Williams after falling to the floor under the rim. Russell committed a technical foul and was promptly thrown out in the game's final minute, with the Thunder leading by seven points.

Four other Minnesota players - Jaylen Nowell, Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, and Anthony Edwards - were issued technical fouls at various points in the game.

"That's something that we got to work on as a team," backup center Naz Reid said. "Our veteran guys, they know better. They know they made mistakes, and they know that might've cost us moments in the game. We're not blaming anybody. It is what it is. We just got to be better."

The Timberwolves have now lost four of their last five games. They've allowed at least 135 points in three of those contests, their worst defensive performances of the season. To make matters worse, All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns is set to miss four-to-six weeks after suffering a calf strain in the Nov. 28 loss to the Washington Wizards.

Minnesota is 11-12 this season with a negative point differential. Gobert, the team's major offseason acquisition, is averaging 13.2 points and 11.4 rebounds, his lowest outputs since the 2017-18 campaign.