Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is injured by his own player after brutal collision with Mike Conley late on in playoff win vs Suns... with 54-year-old 'feared to have torn his patella tendon' before team dumped Phoenix out

Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch hobbled out of their NBA playoff win over the Phoenix Suns with a suspected torn patella after brutally colliding with his own player late in the fourth quarter. 

With just a few minutes to play in Phoenix, Finch was sent tumbling to the ground when Timberwolves star Mike Conley evaded a challenge from Suns' Devin Booker and moved towards the sideline before hitting into his coach.

The 54-year-old fell instantly and looked in visible pain as Conley tried to help him back up, only for both sets of players to form a circle around him as he remained on the floor in some discomfort.

After a few minutes Finch eventually returned to his feet and limped out of the arena with an injury to his lower leg, which is now being assessed by Minnesota's medical team.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch hobbled out of their playoff win over the Suns after a brutal collision with Mike Conley

Finch was sent tumbling to the ground when Timberwolves star Mike Conley evaded a challenge and moved towards the sideline before hitting into his coach

The 54-year-old hobbled out of the arena after injuring his lower leg in the collision

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, there are fears that he suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee as a result of the collision with Conley. 

Assistant coach Micah Nori directed the team for the final 1:41. Nori said Finch was in the medical room getting checked out and that the team went down to see him after the game.

'He's obviously in good spirits and so are the guys,' Nori said.

Finch's Timberwolves were leading by four points with less than two minutes remaining at the time of the collision, and they eventually held on for a 122-116 win to seal a sweep over the Suns and advance to the Conference Semifinals.

Phoenix is the first team to be dumped out of this season's NBA playoffs after suffering a 4-0 whitewash at the hands of Minnesota, who stormed into the next round thanks to Anthony Edwards' 40-point heroics.

Edwards scored 31 of his points in the second half and finished 13 of 23 from the field, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range. Continuing his ascent into superstardom, the 22-year-old threw down a powerful, one-handed jam to give Minnesota a 115-111 lead with 2:14 left.

The Wolves finished off the Suns despite Devin Booker´s 49 points on 13 of 21 shooting. He also made 20 of 21 free throws. Kevin Durant added 33, but the rest of the team struggled.

It was a tight fourth quarter and the Suns tied it at 107 on Royce O'Neale's 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining. Edwards and Jaden McDaniels hit back-to-back corner 3s to put the Wolves up 113-109 with 3:20 left. 

Anthony Edwards was on hand with 40 points as Finch's team advanced to the next round

The Suns became the first team to crash out of the NBA playoffs after the first-round sweep

The Wolves now wait to see if they will face the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.

Edwards hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third and McDaniels followed with a powerful dunk, helping Minnesota turn a six-point deficit into a 68-66 lead. It was part of a big third for Edwards, who hit four 3-pointers and had 15 points.

Booker responded, scoring 18 points during the quarter and the Suns took a 92-90 lead into the fourth.

The Suns threw various looks at the Wolves in the first half, using five perimeter players at various times to try to pull big men Rudy Gobert and Towns away from the basket.

Booker hit a fallaway jumper at the buzzer to give the Suns a 61-56 halftime lead. Durant led Phoenix with 20 points before the break, while Booker had 17. Towns had 15 for the Wolves.

Suns guard Grayson Allen missed his second straight game because of a sprained ankle suffered in Game 1 that he aggravated in Game 2. He averaged 13.5 points per game and led the NBA in 3-point percentage during the regular season.