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The Philadelphia 76ers are sure glad they got Jimmy Butler, aren’t they? It’s not like the Sixers were ever bad without him, but they definitely didn’t have the ability to form comebacks and close out games in the last seconds of the fourth quarter. Ever since they brought on Butler, he has won multiple games for the team in superstar fashion.
The Sixers almost let the Brooklyn Nets show them up once again on Sunday night. As the Sixers trailed 68-54 at halftime, many Philly fans were expecting the same result as last time, when the Sixers were upset by the Nets on the road. But this time around, the Jimmy Butler effect came into play. Butler took on 37 minutes on Sunday, where he dropped 34 points and notched a double-double with his 12 rebounds as well.
Butler’s stat line isn’t what impressed everybody though. It was his ‘We’ve seen this before’ moment at the end of the game. As the Sixers trailed one point with a little over ten seconds left in the game, Butler decided that he wanted to take matters into his own hands once again. And instead of moving the ball around, Butler toyed with the defender around the three-point line where he eventually took a contested three-pointer and drained it, leaving almost no time left on the clock. Check it out.
Butler Goes off Again
Jimmy Buckets called GAME‼️ 😤 (via @NBATV)
This looks familiar for the Sixers, doesn’t it? Just last weekend, the Sixers went into overtime with the Charlotte Hornets, and Butler decided to take matters into his own hands, just like he did on Sunday against the Nets. What do you know? Butler brought home the ‘W’ for the Sixers. Once again, Butler proves that he’s not afraid to take the problematic game-winning shot for his team.
While Butler deserves a ton of credit for the win, the other performances by select Sixers’ players shouldn’t go unnoticed. The team’s big man, Joel Embiid had himself a solid night as he put up 32 points. Also, the rookie Landry Shamet served the team well off the bench as he drained a solid 16 points. All around, the team effort in the second half was solid, but Butler continues to prove that he’s a game-changing player when it’s all said and done.