"A bad sign" - Zach Lowe warns against Timberwolves' anger about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's lenient whistle

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the talk of the NBA community following Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday. While the MVP frontrunner lit the scoreboard with a game-high 31 points, there was a lot more attention given to his controversial 14 free-throw attempts.

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ players and coaching staff were frustrated throughout the game, reacting animatedly to several questionable calls going Gilgeous-Alexander’s way. According to NBA insider Zach Lowe, that frustration was evident early in the game, a mindset he believes hampered their competitiveness.

“Oh, they were furious the whole game," Lowe said, via The Ringer. "I mean, they were, they're furious going into the game, which is always kind of a bad sign. But yeah, I'm sure some clips will be sent to the league office between games one and two.”

Gilgeous-Alexander leads all players in the 2025 playoffs in free-throw attempts. He has attempted 110 in 12 games, averaging 9.2 per game, higher than his 8.8 in the regular season.

Chris Finch urges Minnesota to ignore the calls Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receives

Before the Western Conference finals tipped off on Tuesday, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch praised Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ability to draw fouls.

"His foul draw rate has remained pretty constant," Finch said on Monday, via Sports Illustrated. "I do think there's been more physicality allowed in the playoffs. I would hope that continues and we're allowed to be physical in some of these drives as long as we're being smart. But he's a very clever foul drawer."

Despite acknowledging Gilgeous-Alexander's trait for earning trips to the free-throw line, Finch was frustrated with how Game 1 played out. The Thunder guard received finished with 14 free throw attempts.

"There was a lot of frustration out there," Finch said on Tuesday.

Gilgeous-Alexander's controversial calls led to Jaden McDaniels fouling out and Anthony Edwards getting hit with a technical foul. Finch emphasized the importance of staying focused and not worrying about things that were beyond their control.

“But we talked about that before the series started, and we have to be able to kind of put that to the side and get on with the next-play mentality,” Finch said.

Game 2 will be played at Oklahoma City on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST. Minnesota fans will being hoping to see Edwards and Co. redeem themselves with a stronger performance, while also looking for more balanced calls from the officials.