Nick Nurse Gets Comical Bench Reaction After Milestone Night

Toronto Raptors Head Coach Nick Nurse added yet another feather to his cap after finally winning a coach’s challenge on his seventh try.

At the 7:36 mark of the 3^rd quarter during the Raptors game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, the 52-year old head tactician created quite a comical scene when he started hugging his staff, players and even a fan after having a call overturned into their favor for the first time.

The delight within the bench was understandable, given that Nurse failed six times prior to this. He even joked after his second failed challenge, “ I’m 0-for-2 on challenges and I can’t believe it,” Nurse said. “I don’t have any idea what I’m doing there. Zero.”

The league’s defense, however, was that the referees are 97 percent correct all the time and that a coach’s challenge is really more likely to fail than otherwise. This shows that maybe every successful challenge is a reason to celebrate; hence, the ecstatic Raptors bench. Or perhaps they just really wanted to make fun out of it.

At post-game, Nurse continued to make jokes about the incident. He said, “That was the biggest moment of the day right there. I don’t know what was more important, the coach’s challenge win or the game win.”

Former The Starters host Leigh Ellis even said in jest, “Nick Nurse’s two greatest accomplishments are winning the NBA Championship and finally a coach’s challenge.”

But whether Nurse wins more or just went zero on challenges for the rest of his career, one piece of history will never be taken away from him.

On opening night when the Raps hosted the New Orleans Pelicans, Nurse became the first-ever NBA Head Coach to challenge an official’s call. And while it failed, Nurse got another space in the books and he'll certainly take it.

This might be some comedic stuff right here but it should not be overlooked that the Raptors won the game and snapped the Lakers’ scorching win streak at seven.