Getty Heat star Jimmy Butler, left, and Lakers star LeBron James
Anthony Davis saw Jimmy Butler driving from the top of the 3-point line. There were just under 20 seconds to play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and Butler got a screen from Jae Crowder just beyond the free-throw line, picking LeBron James off of Butler’s foray to the rim. Davis, who had drifted near the baseline to guard the Heat’s Bam Adebayo, stepped up into the paint to challenge Butler’s shot.
The Lakers were ahead by a point, with a chance to win a championship on the line. Davis, though, could not establish position as he went up—he also went forward and was standing in the restricted area—to block the shot. Butler and Davis collided, with a whistle and a foul coming on Davis.
The design on this play was good but the screen from Jae Crowder was key. Was the inbounder and screened for Jimmy Butler. Notice how he set it flat, Butler could go either way. Morris jumps out on the wrong side, Butler able to turn the corner and draw a foul.
Butler made the two free throws, putting the Heat up for a one-point lead and, eventually, the win.
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But the Lakers did not seem to agree that Davis had fouled Butler, either on that play or 30 seconds earlier on another drive by Butler that resulted in two free throws. Markieff Morris was whistled for that one.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel seemed willing to put himself up for an NBA fine with very direct criticism of the calls. “I felt two bad calls put Butler to the line,” Vogel said. “That’s unfortunate in a game of this magnitude. Anthony Davis has a perfect verticality, that should be a play on. The time before that, Markieff Morris has his hand on the ball, that should be a play on. They were given four free throws and made an uphill battle for us. Very disappointed in that aspect of the game.”
“I felt two bad calls at the end put Butler at the line”
Frank Vogel didn’t hold back about the late-game calls in Game 5
Lakers Sent Jimmy Butler to the Free-Throw Line 12 Times in Game 5
Davis, who injured his heel in the game but still managed 28 points on 9-for-15 shooting, agreed with Vogel about the fouls being uncertain, though he did not rap the refs as harshly as Vogel did.
“Two calls that could have went either way with Jimmy,” Davis said. “The foul on Markieff and then the vertical play on me.”
In all, Butler went to the free-throw line 12 times, making all 12 attempts as part of his 35 points. He also had 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Free throws were, generally, even in the game as they have been all series. The Heat took 22 foul shots and the Lakers took 21 in Game 5, and for the series, Miami has taken just five more foul shots than L.A.
And if Vogel felt his team had been so wronged on either play, he could have used a coach’s challenge—except that he had already wasted it on a LeBron James charging call with 9:05 to play in the fourth quarter, which was upheld.
Frank Vogel complaining about the “Verticality” foul on Anthony Davis down the stretch of Game 5 is EXACTLY why you CANNOT exhaust your “Challenge” until it’s absolutely necessary. Could’ve used it on that play.
Jimmy Butler: ‘I Left It All Out There on the Floor’
James, too, disagreed with the calls but, like Davis, did not go as far as Vogel in lashing out at the refs.
“I thought AD made a heck of a play at the rim,” James said. “I felt he was chest to chest with Jimmy, making him change the trajectory of his shot and the call didn’t go our way. I felt like, you know, at that point in time, I think it was a tough call, but they made the call. We still had an opportunity to win. But we feel like, you know, with AD and with him at the rim and him contesting things like that, it could have swayed our way, but it didn’t.”
Butler, for his part, was clearly exhausted at the end of the game. He played 47 minutes and continually attacked the paint.
That took its toll. Asked what he had left in the tank after Game 5, Butler was blunt.
“Nothing,” he said. “I left it all out there on the floor, along with my guys, and that’s how we’re going to have to play from here on out. Like I always say, it’s win or win for us, but this is the position we are in, we like it this way. We got two more in a row to get.”
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