Two-time NBA champion and Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, a veteran in his 17th season on the sidelines, committed a rookie error Tuesday in the final seconds of the team’s 123-121 loss to the Detroit Pistons in an NBA Cup group game at Little Caesars Arena. Trailing by two points with 1.8 seconds remaining, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, off an inbounds, lobbed an alley-oop to center Jalen Duren, who knocked the ball home for the tying basket just as Spoelstra called for a timeout that the Heat requested. not had.

Spoelstra was assessed a technical foul and Pistons guard Malik Beasley sank the ensuing free throw, giving Detroit a late lead that the club would not relinquish.

After the game, Spoelstra took responsibility for the mistake that led to Detroit’s win.

“I just made a serious mental mistake there at the end,” said Spoelstra. ‘That’s up to me. I feel terrible about it.’

Not wanting to make excuses, Spoelstra explained that he had become “emotional and reactive” to the Pistons’ incoming play, and lamented the fact that the decision cost his team a chance at another overtime period and possibly a win .

“There’s really no excuse for that,” Spoelstra said. “I’m 17 years old now. We had talked about it in the conversation, I knew we had nothing. I just got emotional and reactive about that and I just made a terrible mistake there at the end. It’s a shame.”

“You don’t want it to come down to a mental mistake like that,” Spoelstra added. “Yes, you would have liked this to go into double overtime. That’s the kind of game it looked like. It deserved to go into double OT and not have anyone get in the way of that, and unfortunately even if I experienced coach in the way.”

However, Heat guard Tyler Herro, who scored a whopping 40 points in the loss, was behind Spoelstra.

“Spo is one of the best coaches ever. It happens,” Herro said. “Great players play badly. Sometimes they are great coaches, he made a difficult decision. It was an intense moment. Sometimes you get caught up in that. He won us the previous match. We ride with Spo anyway.”

The Heat will next play the Indiana Pacers in a group game on Friday.