Last season, then-Suns coach Igor Kokoskov took exception to Bulls coach Jim Boylen calling timeout up 14 with 40 seconds left.
Against the Hawks last night, Boylen called timeouts up 27 with 5:50 left and up 26 with 3:36 left.
Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce sounded frustrated about those stoppages.
FOX Sports Southeast:
"There were some bright spots."
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) November 7, 2019
Lloyd Pierce: "No, there weren't."
"What were some of the positives?"
Lloyd Pierce: "That the game is over." pic.twitter.com/F6SPeed3wB
Pierce:
I didn’t know how to speed the game up. He called two timeouts in the fourth quarter. I’m looking at him like, “You don’t need to sub. Just let it go. Somebody’s going to foul in the next couple seconds.”
It’s not totally clear Pierce was upset with Boylen. Watch the whole video. He’s clearly mostly dismayed by the outcome – a 113-93 Hawks loss.
But considering what happened with Kokoskov last season, a pattern is emerging with Boylen and opposing coaches.