Following a league review, the NBA officially overturned a technical foul assessed to Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards during Sunday’s game.
The incident took place in the third quarter of the Timberwolves’ 106–99 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. After executing a layup, Edwards briefly locked eyes with Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson, prompting referee Courtney Kirkland to issue a quick technical foul.
Edwards, along with NBA analysts Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller, expressed surprise and disagreement with the call during the TNT broadcast.
“That’s awful. You can’t celebrate someone for being a dog and then we call a technical on a staredown,” remarked Crawford.
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Former NBA star Charles Barkley echoed this sentiment on TNT’s Inside the NBA, criticizing the officials for penalizing such displays of emotion during playoff games.
The NBA’s reversal of the call resets Edwards’s playoff technical foul count to zero. This is noteworthy as the league enforces suspensions after a player accumulates seven technical fouls in a single postseason. Edwards had amassed 15 technical fouls during the regular season.
The Timberwolves and Nuggets will resume their series with Game 2 scheduled for Monday at Ball Arena.
