Butler buries Brooklyn at the buzzer
The Nets appeared poised to chase the 76ers out of Barclays Center again, perhaps just as handily as they had earlier this month.
Of course, that game was before Jimmy Butler landed in Philadelphia.
The Nets frittered away a 20-point first-half lead, and Butler’s 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining sent them to a devastating defeat, 127-125, Sunday night in Brooklyn.
Indeed, all together now, the Butler did it.
“It’s a shame. Heck of a basketball game,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said after Brooklyn (8-13) dropped its third consecutive game. “I thought our guys competed, they led for most of the game and it’s one of those you think you deserve to win and they pull it out at the end.
“They hit some tough shots, and obviously Butler’s shot at the end was a heck of a shot.”
D’Angelo Russell had a heck of a game for the Nets, registering a season-high 38 points — two off his career best — while adding eight rebounds and eight assists. Spencer Dinwiddie also contributed 31 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 26.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
“It’s tough. We played 45 minutes of that game and lost it to that one shot,” Russell said. “We gave ourselves a chance. Ending it like that, you really can’t dwell on that type of loss. You got guys capable of making those shots day in and day out in this league.”
Butler certainly has that capability even if he connected on just 4-of-13 fieldgoal attempts through three quarters. The four-time AllStar didn’t miss any of his seven shots in the fourth, however, including four consecutive 3-point attempts.
Butler netted 18 of his team-high 34 points in the final quarter, while Joel Embiid finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers (14-8).
“It’s a tough loss because we put together what was really a quality three-and-ahalf quarters, 40 minutes or so,” said Joe Harris, who also buried a go-ahead 3-pointer for the Nets in the final minute. “Great players make plays down the stretch.”
Much has changed for both teams since they last faced off, a 25-point Nets blowout victory on Nov 4.
Soon after, the Nets lost leading scorer Caris LeVert for an extended period with an injured right foot, while the Sixers pulled off a blockbuster trade with Minnesota to acquire Butler on Nov. 10.
Butler missed seven of nine shots in Sunday’s first half, and the Nets raced out to a 66-46 lead late in the second quarter.
They still led by 13 midway through the fourth, but JJ Redick’s 3-pointer culminated a 16-2 run to give Philadelphia a one-point edge with 1:08 remaining.
“We had kind of a lull there, and that’s where they got their separation,” Atkinson said.
Dinwiddie’s jumper from the top of the key put the Nets back up by one, but after a Redick miss, Butler earned a jump ball with a dive to the floor. He then coolly sank a step-back 3 from the right side with less than one second remaining.
“My teammates have a lot of confidence in me to take those shots late, so hopefully I make those shots late, as well,” Butler said. “I got to the spot that I wanted, raised up and knocked it down.”