Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 33 points on 11 of 17 shooting with nine rebounds, six assists, and two blocked shots in Sunday night’s 123-118 overtime victory against the Dallas Mavericks.
It was nostalgic Butler. He was all over the place. He drew fouls, set up pump fakes, and facilitated.
The Mavericks have a history of using their game plan to double-team Butler to keep the ball from his hands. On Sunday, Butler had more freedom and more space.
“A ton of it,” Butler said. “It makes my job a lot of easier. Guys are looking for me. I’m also looking for my guys for open shots. I like the freedom to be able to create, make some shots, and definitely get my guys involved.”
Butler’s dunk tied the game 114-114 with 4.4 seconds left in regulation. It looked like Dereck Lively fouled him on the play, which could’ve resulted in a three-point play.
Coach Erik Spoelstra was livid with the refs in this game, especially with that call. The Heat were fortunate to go to overtime and win.
“I’m just glad we took this to overtime and won,” Butler said. “I just saw that he got voted the best coach in the association, rightfully so because he’d be locked in, and he’d be studying and stuff like nobody I’ve ever seen. He drew up something that was incredible, and I hate to say it, but Duncan made an incredible pass.”
Butler has scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games.
The Heat’s next opponent is the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
