TORONTO -- It didn't take long for the first coach's challenge in NBA history to take place.
In the first quarter of Toronto's 130-122 overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, Raptors coach Nick Nurse used his only challenge of the game to dispute an offensive foul call against forward Norman Powell.
The challenge came with 2 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first quarter and sent officials to the monitors to review the play. Powell went into the lane and connected with Josh Hart's face on his way up for a shot. After a quick check on the monitor, the call was upheld and Nurse and the Raptors lost the ability to challenge a call for the rest of the game.
"I haven't spent a whole lot of time thinking about it," Nurse said. "I'm not real comfortable with when I can and can't use it, and what I can and can't use it for. I know it's pretty simple; there's only a few things you can use it for.
"I thought the guy, what I saw, I thought the guy hit him first as Norm went in there. I could've swore I saw that. And I watched the replay, and I swore I saw it again. But I must've really, be really wrong when they watch it on video and the call stands. But the good news is, the entire league is 0-for on the coach's challenge right now."
That's because Pelicans counterpart Alvin Gentry had the same fate.
With 2:39 remaining in the third quarter, Gentry used his only challenge after forward Kenrich Williams was called for a loose-ball foul against Raptors forward Serge Ibaka. Officials ruled that Williams tugged on Ibaka's shorts going up the court.
Gentry called a timeout to signal for the review, and after officials reviewed it, he also lost his challenge, and Ibaka went to the line for a pair of free throws because the foul put the Pelicans into the penalty.
The NBA is experimenting with the challenge this season after using a version of the rule in the G League for the past two years. It is being used this season in the NBA on only a trial basis.
A team is allowed one chance per game to challenge the following calls: a called personal foul charged to its own team; a called out-of-bounds violation; or a called goaltending or basket interference violation.