Jimmy Butler played arguably the best basketball of his career over the course of the Miami Heat’s seven-game series against the Boston Celtics, but it was one shot that was all the talk following their Game 7 loss.
Butler’s three-point attempt with 16.6 seconds remaining in the game would have given the Heat a 99-98 lead but he hit the front iron and Boston grabbed the rebound, essentially securing their trip to the NBA Finals.
The shot was certainly questionable as Butler had Al Horford in front of him with space to drive to the basket, instead he pulled up for the potential game-winning shot.
Had Butler sank the three-pointer he would have been a hero in Miami but the Heat star did not seem to have any regrets about it.
“My thought process was ‘Go for the win,’ which I did,” Butler told reporters. “But I’m taking that shot. My teammates like the shot that I took. So I’m living with it.”
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was fine with the shot as well, telling reporters, “When it left his hand, I thought it was going down.”
But not everyone thought it was the right call for Butler — a 23% shooter from beyond the arc in the regular season.
Jeff Van Gundy immediately criticized him in the moment, calling it a “bad decision” while many watching the game shared their thoughts on Twitter:
Others, however, defended Butler’s shot.
Butler scored a game-high 35 points and had 82 points combined in Games 6 and 7 — only Allen Iverson has ever scored more in a Game 6 and 7 of a singles postseason series.
Regardless of if it was the right shot or not, it will certainly be discussed for some time in Miami.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram