'Do the human thing': Touching reason why Aussie veteran Joe Ingles started first NBA game in three years

Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has revealed the touching reason why Australian veteran Joe Ingles started his first NBA game in over three years.

With his wife and three children in attendance, Ingles made his first start since January 2022 on Saturday (AEDT) after his son Jacob, who has autism, recently reached the milestone of viewing an entire game in person.

Finch gave Ingles the start so Jacob could watch his father play.

READ MORE: Raiders skipper reveals 'pokie addiction' in raw interview

READ MORE: 'It just hurts': Sport world pays tribute to boxing icon

READ MORE: F1 battlers whacked for forgetting memory card

"Sometimes you've got to do the human thing," the coach said post-game.

"We always talk about, 'All these minutes matter,' and those minutes mattered for another reason. Someone put it in my head today as an idea to make sure Joe can see the floor and I figured if we're going to do it, let's do it in style,.

"Guys were behind it and I think it gave us just the right boost. Not often that you get to do those types of things, but we're really happy that we could."

The 37-year-old Aussie went scoreless with an assist in just over six minutes.

His wife Renae thanked the team for the unforgettable moment on social media.

Ingles' teammate Julius Randle finished with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Wolves record a 134-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards each scored 17 points, and Rudy Gobert had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which moved back within a game of Golden State for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with 10 games left.

Minnesota's 41-point margin of victory was their largest this season.