Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups tested the patience of the Moda Center when he signaled for a coach’s challenge with 5:57 left in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s clunker against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Blazers trailed the Sixers by 25 points. It mattered little if the refs overturned the call of basket interference and allowed Portland guard Shaedon Sharpe’s tip-dunk to count for two points. In a lot of ways, the stoppage felt like an exercise in futility, prolonging an out-of-reach, ugly game for the Blazers.
In another sense, the brief break provided fans with a golden opportunity to head for the exits.