The one that got away continues to haunt the Philadelphia 76ers and their fans. The Sixers had Jimmy Butler, but they let him get away in free agency to join the Miami Heat.
The Sixers desperately tried to replace him as they were looking at Tobias Harris to try and fulfill what was missing, but he was not able to do so. Instead, the Sixers were swept in Round 1 and Butler is leading the Heat to the NBA Finals.
While down 0-2 to the Los Angeles Lakers, Butler had to deliver a huge game in order for Miami to have a chance. They needed to have a huge game while missing Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo and Butler delivered 40 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds in a 115-104 win over the Lakers to get Miami on the board in this series.
Butler joined some elite company in NBA history with his 40-point triple-double. He joined the likes of LeBron James, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Luka Doncic as well as the only players in NBA playoff history to have a 40-point triple-double.
Jimmy Butler joins Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic as the fifth player in NBA playoff history to have a game with 40 points, more than 10 rebounds, and more than 10 assists. Only LeBron, West, and Butler did it in the #NBAFinals https://t.co/09hAFaVK9N pic.twitter.com/HG8RTpA944
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) October 5, 2020
The Heat are now back in this series as they were able to avoid an 0-3 hole and pull to within 2-1. Now, they can look to even the series in Game 4 rather than fight for their lives. [lawrence-related id=38118,38114,38101]