The tension blew over tonight in the American Airlines Center as the Dallas Mavericks hosted the Chicago Bulls, but it wasn’t because of a missed shot or a late turnover. Tonight, it was a goaltending call and a challenge window that slammed shut by the time the Mavs realized it was gone. As soon as Mavs head coach Jason Kidd turned to the officials, the decision seemed to be made, and minutes later, he was ejected.

“The window closes for replay challenge once the thrower-in is given the ball,” crew chief Scott Foster told reporter Will Gottlieb. “[Kidd] used profanity toward an official on two separate occasions and was given a technical foul for each occasion.”

Here’s exactly what happened. With 5:44 left in the first quarter, Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu was blocked on a layup by Mavs guard Max Christie, but officials ruled it a goaltend. Immediately afterwards, the ball was handed to the team’s in-bounder, while Kidd called for a coach’s challenge.

This is where the confusion began. From the Mavs‘ perspective, the stoppage was a natural place to pause to initiate the replays, but, after the officials deliberated, the procedural line had been crossed, and there was no way to reverse it.

What followed was an angry blowup from Kidd. Like Foster stated, Kidd immediately confronted him and launched profanities at the crew, prompting two technical fouls and an ejection.

Kidd had to be held back by assistant coach Frank Vogel, who took over his duties while Kidd left for the locker room.

This marks Kidd’s third ejection since taking over as Mavs head coach.

Jason Kidd’s Ejection Highlights a Growing Frustration With the Challenge System

After the game, Frank Vogel addressed the moment directly, adding context and explaining that Dallas believed that they still had the right to challenge the call, and that the misunderstanding escalated rapidly.

“We were trying to challenge a play,” Vogel told reporters in the post-game conference. “They inbounded the ball before we could, we thought we had the right to challenge. [Jason Kidd] and Scott got into it, and it led to the ejection.”

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The incident just reflects a recurring friction point for coaching staff over the last few years: the razor-thin margin around the coach’s challenge.

The staff is expected to make split-second decisions while also managing substitutions, inbound defense, and maintaining execution. One mistake in procedure, and the opportunity completely disappears.

Other coaches’ pleas with the challenge process surfaced earlier this season, when Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick publicly called out officials and a perceived inconsistency in the challenge process, along with what calls are challengeable, with star forward LeBron James backing his coach up.