Veteran Tony Brothers leads officiating crew for Timberwolves-Lakers Game 3

The NBA has announced that veteran official Tony Brothers will be the crew chief for Game 3 between the Lakers and Timberwolves, and he'll be joined by referee Mark Lindsay, umpire Gediminias Petraitis, and Andy Nagy as the alternate on Friday night.

Timberwolves and Lynx reporter Jack Borman pointed out that Brothers calls more fouls than any other ref in the postseason. He is historically known for calling things tight, and with a pivotal Game 3 up for grabs, there's a good chance we see a closely contested game.

Brothers was a part of the officiating crew for three Wolves games during the regular season, and Minnesota went 1-2 in those games, according to Basketball Reference.

Brothers was the crew chief for last year's third game of the Western Conference Finals between Minnesota and Dallas. The Wolves were whistled for 24 fouls in that game compared to 19 for the Mavs — and Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley each finished with five fouls.

The Mavs shot 31 free throws compared to 17 for Minnesota in that game.

Friday's game will be the first time Brothers has been assigned as a referee for the Wolves this postseason. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8:43 p.m. CT at Target Center, and it will be televised nationally on ESPN.

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