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Watch: Jimmy Butler blows a wide-open layup
Jimmy Butler made a great cut to get an open layup. The problem was making it.
Jimmy Butler missed an uncontested bunny pic.twitter.com/CRSjFiD8wL
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) February 14, 2023
Down four points late to the Denver Nuggets, Miami called a great out-of-bounds play after a timeout. Butler circled Nikola Jokic and made a delayed cut to the basket where he simply missed from point-blank range.
Afterward, Butler looked up suspiciously at the rim that betrayed him.
That rim's got some explaining to do pic.twitter.com/UoSnMGTrVm
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) February 14, 2023
It was an inglorious end to a battle between All-Star centers Bam Adebayo and Jokic. Adebayo had 19 points, while Jokic flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
All-Star snub Butler also came close to a triple-double, ending up with 24 points, ten rebounds and nine assists. The difference between his game and Jokic's? Jokic took only 14 field goal attempts, and made 12. Butler shot a respectable 8-18, but 9-18 would have looked a lot better on the stat line and on the scoreboard.
Butler may have impressed commissioner Adam Silver in case any team needs an injury replacement for Sunday's game. As for Butler, he says "I'm just happy I get a vacation." He's going to need it to forget about that miss.
More must-reads:
- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets hold off Heat in Miami
- The 25 best NBA nicknames of all time
- The '25 PPG & 10 RPG seasons' quiz
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