The Detroit Pistons beat the Miami Heat in overtime on Tuesday night, however, the game was headed into double OT, when head coach Erik Spoelstra made one of the biggest mistakes of his 17-year coaching career.
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The Heat were winning 121-119 with 1.1 seconds left, and the Pistons tied it up after Cade Cunningham tossed an alley oop to Jalen Duren to make it 121-121.
CADE CUNNINGHAM TO JALEN DUREN!! https://t.co/KaQBrlgesn
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) November 13, 2024
With no timeouts left and one second on the clock, it seems the game was headed into a second overtime. However, Spoelstra evidently forgot his team did not have any timeouts to spare, and as a result right away the referees awarded a technical free throw to the Pistons.
Erik Spoelstra calls for a timeout despite the Heat being out of timeouts
Detroit wins the game at the line
(via @FanDuelSN_Heat)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 13, 2024
Jalen Rose watching Erik Spoelstra call a timeout he didn't have and giving the Pistons the win over the Heat 🤣pic.twitter.com/RvCKtjV094
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 13, 2024
Malik Beasley made the free throw, to put the Pistons up 122-121, then following an intentional foul, the final score ended up 123-121 in the home team's favor.
To point, Tyler Herro was the only reason the game went into overtime in the first place, as he made three consecutive three-pointers in the final moments of regulation.
TYLER HERRO HITS 3 STRAIGHT THREES TO SEND GAME TO OT 🤯
HE'S MADE A CAREER-HIGH 10 SO FAR TONIGHT pic.twitter.com/sy6WHDm4HV
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 13, 2024
Then he is the one that gave the Heat a two point lead with one second left in OT.
TYLER HERRO PUTS THE HEAT UP 121-119 WITH 1.8 SECONDS LEFT.
HE'S UP TO 40 POINTS! CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/GOxsDq7O4B
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) November 13, 2024
Herro ended the night with a season-high 40 points and career-high 10 3's made (10-for-17) to go with eight assists, five rebounds, and four steals.
After the game coach Spoelstra took full responsibility for the loss.
Erik Spoelstra on the timeout:
“I made a serious mental error at the end. That's on me. I feel horrible about it. No excuse for that. I'm 17 years in. pic.twitter.com/TsEemetJGf
— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) November 13, 2024
While holding back tears the veteran head coach, who signed a record-breaking $120 million extension earlier this year, gave the following statement:
"No excuse for that. I'm 17 years in. We talked about it in the huddle I knew we didn't have anything. I got emotional & reactive on that. I made a horrendous mistake at the end. It's a shame cause we really fought back."
Related: Heat's Tyler Herro Pauses Postgame Interview To Watch Fight In Stands
