Houston Chronicle · Dec 10, 2019
Growing pains accompany NBA coach's challenge rule
Sacramento coach Luke Walton ate dinner as he watched the Rockets’ game against the Spurs the night before his team played in Portland last Tuesday.
When James Harden’s fourth-quarter dunk went through the net then whipped up to the rim, Walton initially thought he had missed.
But after the NBA denied the Rockets' protest of their 135-133 double-overtime loss to San Antonio, the first-year coach sees the situation as part of the league’s growing pains with the coach’s challenge rule which was adopted on a one-year trial basis for this season.
“I thought he missed it at first too but obviously the replay was pretty clear that the ball went through,” Walton said.
