Last Updated:
Spoelstra started walking onto the court, signalling for a timeout when the Miami Heat were already out of timeouts at that point, thereby getting charged with a technical foul.
Miami Heat HC Erik Spoelstra (AFP)
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s massive blunder against the Detroit Pistons cost them big on Wednesday.
During the closing moments, Detroit star Jalen Duren dunked home the equaliser to level the game 121-121. That was when Spoelstra started walking onto the court, signalling for a timeout.
Since the Miami Heat were already out of timeouts at that point, the officials charged them with a technical foul.
The commentators could be heard explaining Erik Spoelstra’s mid-match blunder after the equaliser from Jalen Duren.
“Oh no! The referee is saying that Coach Spo has called a timeout. That’s a technical foul as the Heat are out of timeouts,” one commentator said.
Fans couldn’t help but react to the massive blunder from Erik Spoelstra. The uncharacteristic mistake from one of the game’s best coaches surprised many.
The technical foul proved quite costly for the Miami Heat as Malik Beasley hit the free throw to put the Detroit Pistons ahead 122-121 with just a second remaining on the clock. It also allowed the Detroit Pistons to maintain possession.
Erik Spoelstra even spoke about the mistake after the game, taking the blame for the loss.
“I made just a serious mental error at the end. That’s on me. I feel horrible about it. There’s really no excuse for that,” he said, as per multiple outlets.
“You don’t want to come down to a mental error like that. You would have liked to have seen it go double overtime. It deserved to go double OT and not have someone get in the way of that. Unfortunately, even as a veteran coach, I got in the way of that,” Spoelstra concluded.
The Miami Heat will next take on the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Cup. The match will take place on Saturday, November 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
