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Tony Brothers leads referee crew for Timberwolves-Warriors Game 2
Apr 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA referee Tony Brothers (25) walks on the court in the first quarter of game two of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat at Rocket Arena. David Richard-Imagn Images

Tony Brothers leads referee crew for Timberwolves-Warriors Game 2

Originally posted on Minnesota Timberwolves on SI
By Will Ragatz  |  Last updated May 8, 2025 10:58 AM ET

Veteran NBA referee Tony Brothers is the crew chief for Thursday night's Game 2 between the Timberwolves and Warriors at Target Center, the league has announced. Joining him are referee Tyler Ford and umpire Brian Forte.

Brothers, 60, is in his 31st season as an NBA ref, making him one of the longest-tenured officials in the league. He was previously the crew chief for Minnesota's Game 3 win over the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, a game where Anthony Edwards and the Wolves pulled away late. During the regular season, the Timberwolves were 1-2 in games he called.

Notably, Brothers called fouls at a higher rate during the regular season than any other referee who is working in this year's playoffs. He was in the 90th percentile or higher for shooting, personal, offensive, and technical fouls.

That's interesting in the context of both Chris Finch and Steve Kerr coming out on Wednesday and voicing frustration with the lack of calls during Game 1. Finch wanted more fouls called on the Warriors for their physicality with Rudy Gobert on the glass. Kerr wasn't happy with the Wolves grabbing Steph Curry away from the ball during the 13 minutes he played before getting hurt. With Brothers leading the crew, perhaps both coaches will get their wish of a tighter whistle.

The Wolves are 4-0 this year in games called by Ford, who is also in the top row of the chart above. That includes Game 1 of the Lakers series. Forte was the umpire for that game.

Thursday night's showdown is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off in Minneapolis (TNT, truTV, Max). It's the only game of the night in the NBA. With no Curry, the Wolves are favored by 10.5 points, which is the biggest spread they've seen in these playoffs so far.

Home teams in this second round were 0-6 until the Thunder blew out the Nuggets late on Wednesday. The Wolves will look to avoid falling behind 0-2 like the Cavaliers and Celtics in the East.

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This article first appeared on FanNation All Timberwolves and was syndicated with permission.

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