The game between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night was delayed nearly 30 minutes due to a strange network malfunction that appeared to be caused by some pregame antics of Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga .
Before the game, Kuminga hung on the rim and began to bother his teammates by knocking away their shots. On one of them, he stuck his hand through the edge and got tangled in the net. Video from the Timberwolves broadcast shows a piece of netting apparently dislodged in the process.
Just before the game started, the Warriors and the referees noticed the problem with the net and called operational staff to assess the situation. A ladder was quickly brought to the court and several workers set to work repairing the net.
The crowd grew increasingly frustrated as repeated attempts to remedy the situation were unsuccessful. Even Steph Curry was fed up. He joined in the boos and gave one of the unsuccessful efforts a double thumbs up.
While everyone waited, some players took time to catch up with old friends, while others were shot at the other end of the field, which was unaffected. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards praised Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who he played for this summer in the Olympics with Team USA. Former teammates Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert also chatted – but maybe not about the notorious moment Gobert hit Anderson on the bench during the 2023 season.
Eventually, the net was repaired and the referees gave the green light for the match to begin. But because of all the sitting time, both teams had time to warm up, which only added to the delay. All in all, it was almost a half hour after the originally scheduled tip time that the game actually began.
