Erik Spoelstra's Baffling Mistake in Closing Seconds Gifts Pistons Win Over Heat

Erik Spoelstra uncharacteristically called a timeout with none remaining which led to a loss in Miami's first NBA Cup game of the season.

Spoelstra calls out signals for the Miami Heat. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Emirates NBA Cup started with fireworks Tuesday thanks to an eye-popping, uncharacteristic mistake from the sidelines.

Erik Spoelstra and his Miami Heat found themselves in a dog fight in Detroit when they came back from a nine-point deficit in the final 1:32 of regulation to force overtime. The Pistons and Heat went back and forth in the extra period where it felt like whoever had the ball last would win the game.

In a tied game with 1.8 seconds left, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham inbounded the ball toward the basket as big man Jalen Duren leapt through the air to slam home the alley-oop. Spoelstra immediately stepped onto the court signaling for a timeout in frustration.

The only issue was, Miami didn't have any timeouts left.

"It was a just really well executed play and then I made a serious mental error there at the end," Spoelstra told reporters as he fought the emotions following the tough loss Tuesday night. "That's on me, I feel horrible about it. There's really no excuse for that, I'm 17 years in. We had talked about it in the huddle, I knew we didn't have any (timeouts), I just got emotional and reactive on that and I made a horrendous mistake."

A complete, uncharacteristic meltdown from Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra.

First: he gets burned by Detroit’s ATO.

Second: he calls a timeout in frustration, but he doesnt have any left. So he’s assessed a technical foul. Pistons take the lead at the line.

Third: tries to sub… pic.twitter.com/wCtAmMFPjZ

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 13, 2024

It's miraculous that Spoelstra's Heat even fought back to force overtime as they trailed by 18 points at one point. However, their impressive comeback was soured by the uncharacteristic blunder to end the game.

The Heat drop to 0-1 in NBA Cup play with the chance to right the ship Friday against the Indiana Pacers.

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