Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is expressing his dismay to officials after James Harden’s dunk was waived off in the fourth quarter of their match against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
Harden’s dunk attempt clearly went inside the hoop before bizarrely rolling out of the rim. The Rockets, who were up by double digits in the fourth, went on to lose the same game in double overtime, 135-133.
Had Harden’s basket been counted, Houston might have not gone to overtime and eventually lose grip of the thrilling Texas match-up. There’s really no point in crying over spilled milk, but the Rockets brass are reportedly thinking of filing a protest after referees denied D’Antoni a chance to issue a Coach’s Challenge during the critical play.
Per Jonathan of the Houston Chronicle, D’Antoni reportedly asked to issue a coach’s challenge after Harden’s blunder was initially called as offensive goaltending.
The referees then changed the call to out of bounds since the ball last touched Harden. D’Antoni then tried to challenge that as well, but officials responded by saying he could not challenge those calls.
D’Antoni felt like that critical juncture cost Houston the game, as the new Coach’s Challenge ruling clearly states that out of bounds and goaltending plays can be subjected to a challenge.
D’Antoni: “You can challenge goaltending, out of bounds. You can challenge all that.” https://t.co/xGr95Pd2ut
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 4, 2019
The Rockets (13-7) dropped to fifth place in the Western Conference after the loss, now trailing the Dallas Mavericks. Harden once more breached the 50-point mark in the losing effort while also notching nine boards and six assists in 49 minutes.
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