The San Antonio Spurs were fighting off a comeback attempt from the Miami Heat in the final minutes of Sunday’s game when the NBA’s new coaching challenge rule came into play. As Jimmy Butler drove to the basket for the Heat and went for a layup, the refs called for a continuation and goaltending on the Spurs, which would have given Miami a three-point play opportunity and the chance to cut the deficit to two points.
Becky Hammon won the Spurs a late challenge after convincing Gregg Popovich to go for it
Pop didn’t want to challenge a late foul call on Jimmy Butler until Hammon convinced him to go for it.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon wasn’t having it. Hammon thought the continuation call was ambitious, to say the least, as Butler took the contact well before the shot. Hammon pleaded with head coach Gregg Popovich to challenge the continuation call. After he initially opposed the idea, Pop finally relented and issued the challenge.
The call was overturned. The Spurs would go on to win, 107-102.
Miami, meanwhile, wasn’t thrilled at how long the Spurs took before deciding to challenge.
This was a huge victory for San Antonio, which had lost three of the last four games entering their contest against Miami. The Spurs are in a fight for the No. 8 seed, trailing the red-hot Grizzlies (winners of seven straight) by 1.5 games in the standings. This win could have been in jeopardy had Hammon not been emphatic in asking for the challenge.
Hammon deserves to be in the head coach’s chair one day soon after years as an assistant in San Antonio. Until then, she’s making an impact on Popovich’s bench and helping the Spurs claw their way into the playoff picture.
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