Heat's Erik Spoelstra gets brutally honest on 'horrendous mistake' vs. Pistons
11/12/2024 11:46 PM
The Miami Heat engaged in an intense interconference matchup with the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Miami kept themselves in the game, but Erik Spoelstra’s last-second timeout blunder sealed the Heat’s unfortunate loss. Spoelstra was honest when speaking about the decision after the game.
The Heat led the Pistons 121-119 with 1.8 seconds left. Cade Cunningham had possession of the ball for Detroit’s last-ditch effort to score off an inbounds play. Jalen Duren broke away from Bam Adebayo after a screen from a Pistons teammate, and Cunningham threw a lob to the center to tie the game 121-121.
Erik Spoelstra, who was upset about the play, called a timeout for the Heat, but they had run out. Thus, officials assessed Miami a technical foul, and the Pistons made both of their free throws to win the game 123-121. Here is what Spoelstra had to say afterward:
“I made a serious mental error at the end. That’s on me. I feel horrible about it. There’s really no excuse for that. I’m 17 years in. When we talked about it in the huddle, I knew we [didn’t have any more timeouts]. I just got emotional and reactive on [the last play], and I just made a horrendous mistake,” Spoelstra said in a postgame media availability, via Heat Nation on X (formerly Twitter).
“It’s a shame because we really fought back. We had some great defensive possessions, tussle possessions, those 50-50 balls. And Tyler [Herro] was just sensational. You don’t want it to come down to a mental error like that. You would have just liked to have seen this go double overtime. That’s the game it felt like. It felt like it deserved to go double OT,” Spoelstra added.
The Heat’s loss hurts, but they do not have time to dwell on it. Miami will take the 40-point outing from Tyler Herro and other positives away from the matchup as they prepare for their next NBA Cup competition against the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 15.
The post Heat’s Erik Spoelstra gets brutally honest on ‘horrendous mistake’ vs. Pistons appeared first on ClutchPoints.
