That gut-wrenching 127-126 OT loss aside, a different incident lit up South Beach with rage. As the Charlotte Hornets hosted the Miami Heat for the first day of the Play-In Tournament, the determination to win took an ugly turn. While the final score eliminated the Heat from postseason contention, Spoelstra’s post-game frustration was focused squarely on a non-call involving Hornets star LaMelo Ball. In case you’ve missed the thing that’s enraging the Internet right now, Melo pulled an arguably ‘dirty’ move on Bam Adebayo that could’ve caused serious injury.

During the second quarter, Ball appeared to deliberately trip Adebayo after a missed layup, causing the All-Star center to fall hard on his lower back. Adebayo, who recently made history with an 83-point performance in March, left the game and did not return.

Naturally, the Internet, the Miami Heat, their fans were furious. Heat head coach, Erik Spoelstra led the rage-fueled tirade in the post-game presser on behalf of disgruntled fans. Spoelstra unloaded on the officiating and the nature of the play after the elimination. “I don’t think it’s cute. I don’t think it’s funny. I think it’s a stupid play. It’s a dangerous play,” Spoelstra said.

He didn’t stop there. He wanted the NBA to take action on LaMelo Ball for that maneuver. “He should be penalized for that. I don’t think that belongs in the game, tripping guys. Somebody has got to see that. He should have been thrown out of the game for that.”

Spo is right that somebody would’ve seen that incident. The play in question has been replayed through multiple camera angles over and over to determine if Melo did it on purpose or not.

Despite admitting that he didn’t see it in the moment, Spo is concerned about an injury to his star player. And he’s demanding consequences for it.

Erik Spoelstra was unable to challenge Bam Adebayo foul in the game

Clips of that foul have flooded the Internet as fans and analysts break down the unnecessary move LaMelo Ball just pulled. Ball first fell to the ground and while on his back, he seems to grab at Bam Adebayo’s ankle. If the grab was deliberate or his hand just got tangled among the three players so close to stomping him has turned into a raging debate.

Spo didn’t have to see it to determine it was ‘dirty’ in his books. “I didn’t see it. The bench was telling me. I didn’t want to see it. There’s no place in the game for those kind of shenanigans. It wasn’t needed and he was frustrated. I think he felt like he got fouled so he takes the liberty of yanking somebody. That should be penalized.”

The incident occurred under the basket while play continued to the other end, leaving officials blind to the contact. Because no whistle was blown, the play was ineligible for a coaching challenge or official review, a technicality that Spoelstra found inexcusable given the stakes of the elimination game.

This sequence of events marks a bitter end to a rollercoaster season for Miami. LaMelo stayed in the game even though Miami fans wanted him ejected. Adebayo was unable to return and his status is still up in the air. Without their defensive anchor for the second half, the Heat struggled to contain Ball, who eventually finished with 30 points and the game-winning layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime.

For Spoelstra, the result was secondary to the dirty nature of the injury that arguably tipped the scales in Charlotte’s favor.