Why LeBron James always enjoys facing Jimmy Butler. And did Butler get fouled on final shot?
As the Miami Heat faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena, two of the league’s best had another opportunity to go at it.
The Heat’s Jimmy Butler and the Lakers’ LeBron James.
And in the Lakers’ 113-110 win, both All-Stars posted big nights.
James scored 28 points to go along with 11 assists and nine rebounds. Butler led the Heat with 23 points and had four steals, three assists and three rebounds.
Butler now has 14 20-point games so far this season, including seven consecutive games. He is the first Heat player to have that many consecutive 20-point games in a single season since Dwyane Wade had eight consecutive from March 4-20, 2015.
“It’s always great to go against a great competitor in our league,” James said. “Someone who takes a lot of pride on both sides of the floor, has that willingness to just want to win and do whatever it takes. Jimmy is always someone that you look forward to that matchup when that game comes because you know he’s going to play his heart out. He’s gonna play hard all game. It’s always fun.”
The Heat led 59-51 at the half primarily by taking advantage of a slew of Lakers miscues. Los Angeles turned the ball over 11 times in the first half — seven by James alone. The Heat turned that into 18 points.
After Kendrick Nunn took a feed from Jimmy Butler on a steal for a dunk to put the Heat up 61-51, the Lakers went on a 29-8 run over 5:41 go up 80-69. James’ 30-foot three-pointer to give Los Angeles the double-digit lead gave him 10 points over the run.
“They made some shots and went on a little run, but that is the game of basketball for you,” Butler said. “It is a game of runs. You’ve just got to withstand them. I think we did a really good job. They have good players.”
What could have been
The NBA’s Last Two Minute report released Saturday indicated the Heat was fouled twice on the final possession of Friday’s loss to the Lakers. Trailing 113-110 with 4.2 seconds to play, the Heat had one final possession to try to send the game into overtime but Butler missed a three-point shot as time expired.
The report ruled that before Butler even caught the inbound pass, he was fouled by James.
“During the inbound pass, James is late to the spot and initiates contact with Butler that affects his [freedom of movement],” the report reads.
Also, the report ruled that Butler was fouled on the three-point shot by Lakers center Anthony Davis.
“Davis moves into Butler’s space and makes contact to his body that affects his jump shot attempt,” the report reads. “The contact is not created by Butler’s leg extension.”
The foul prior to the inbound pass would have resulted in one free throw for Butler and the Heat would have retained possession with an opportunity to tie or win the game. The foul on Davis would have resulted in three free throws for Butler, which would have tied the game if he made all of them.
The new Zo
During a Friday appearance on ESPN’s “The Jump,” former Heat center and current Heat executive Alonzo Mourning was asked which current NBA player reminds him most of himself.
Mourning didn’t hesitate with his answer, pointing to Butler.
“I’m a little biased because I get a chance to see him on a regular basis, but Jimmy Butler,” Mourning said on “The Jump.” “He’s a miniature version of myself. Just his intensity, the way he goes about preparation and also the way he plays on both sides of the ball, defensively as well as offensively. He can impact the game with his defense, change the game with his defense. I always knew that I would get my points during the flow of the game, but I made it a point and a priority to make sure that defense and rebounding, I was going to do that and prioritize that to help my team.”
Since joining the Heat, Butler has said he sees similarities between himself and Mourning. Coach Erik Spoelstra has also made the comparison.
“Jimmy’s mentality is very, very similar,” Spoelstra said to the Miami Herald in October. “Just in terms of how fierce of a competitor he is and he wears his competitiveness on his sleeve. He has a work ethic that is very comparable to Zo, tireless and fully committed to the process.”
This and that
▪ Heat guard Goran Dragic (right groin strain) and forward Justise Winslow (lower back strain) did not travel with the team for Saturday’s game against the Mavericks, which marks the start of a three-game trip. But the Heat didn’t rule out the possibility of Dragic and/or Winslow joining the team at some point during the trip that ends Wednesday against the 76ers.
▪ Forward James Johnson did not travel with the team to Dallas for Saturday’s game against the Mavericks because of “personal reasons,” according to the Heat.
▪ Guard Dion Waiters in unavailable for the entire trip because he’s serving his third team-issued suspension of the season. He is eligible to return after the Heat’s Dec. 23 home game against the Jazz.
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 3:35 PM.
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