Spoelstra's blunder gifts Pistons OT win in NBA Cup opener

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra had an epic gaffe in the closing moments of Miami's 123-121 overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

The Heat had a two-point lead with 1.8 seconds remaining in the extra frame. Miami gave up a wide-open, game-tying alley-oop dunk to Jalen Duren after rushing to remove a sixth player from the floor. Spoelstra proceeded to attempt to call a timeout despite not having any left. Detroit was awarded a technical foul free throw as a result and veteran guard Malik Beasley calmly knocked down the eventual winner.

The Pistons were also awarded the ball with 1.1 seconds remaining due to the excessive timeout call.

"J.B. (Bickerstaff) just drew up a great play. We didn't have the backside protected. It was just a really well-executed play," Spoelstra told the media in his postgame interview, courtesy of SiriusXNBA's Rob Perez.

"I just made a serious mental error there at the end," he continued. "That's on me. I feel horrible about it. There's really no excuse for that. I'm 17 years in. ... I knew we didn't have anything. I just got emotional and reactive on that and I just made a horrendous mistake there at the end."

Miami was able to claw back from a 14-point deficit thanks to six fourth-quarter triples from guard Tyler Herro. The Kentucky product finished the game with a season-high 40 points, including a franchise-record 10 made 3-pointers.

Cade Cunningham led the way for Detroit, tallying 21 points and nine assists.

The Heat fall to 4-6 (0-1 in NBA Cup play) while Detroit vaults them in the standings, improving to 5-7 (1-0 in Cup action).

The Heat continue NBA Cup action next, facing the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis on Friday night. The Pistons will take on the 3-8 Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.