Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson not only lost the game, he lost his mind on the officials and was forced to leave the bench and head to the locker room.
Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson officially lost his mind on Saturday night.
In his team’s disheartening 111-97 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road, Atkinson found himself so fired up that he charged the officials (video above).
It appeared as if Atkinson first grew irate at the non-call when two-guard Joe Harris drove hard to the rim. Then, when Karl-Anthony Towns drew a call off the offensive rebound, Atkinson started to really give it to the officials.
When the ref shouted back at the Nets coach with the technical foul, Atkinson needed to be physically restrained from going any further.
Jimmy Butler returned to the T-Wolves lineup to pour in a game-high 21 points including 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. From a team perspective, Brooklyn was called for 19 total fouls to Minnesota’s 12.
For the Nets, big man Jahlil Okafor provided the lone bright spot on this night. The former No. 2 overall selection scored 21 points off the bench on 9-of-14 from the floor in 24 minutes. He also added six boards.
The loss bumps the Nets record down to 18-32, bad enough for 13th in the east. Next up will the New York Knicks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
