Jimmy Butler does it again, Sixers win 127-125

Jimmy. Freaking. Butler. He did it again. The Sixers beat the Brooklyn Nets tonight by a score of 127-125 on a 3-point shot from Butler with 0.4 seconds left in the game. The Sixers decided to start playing basketball with a little over five minutes left, and play basketball they did. They took the lead for the first time since leading 2-0 in the first quarter with 1:02 left in the game. After trading the lead with Brooklyn a few times in that final minute, Butler sunk the dagger to give the Sixers the win.

To say the Sixers weren’t playing good basketball for most of the game would be an understatement. They were unable to defend any of the Nets’ guards, allowing both D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie to score at will. In addition to poor defense, both Russell and Dinwiddie were shooting out of their minds, seemingly just throwing up shots that found their way through the basket. Dinwiddie shot 73.3% from the floor, something he has never done when attempting more than 10 shots. He finished with 31 points, tying his career high. It didn’t matter, however, because of Jimmy freaking Butler.

Landry Shamet had a great night, providing the spark the Sixers needed and hitting some big threes down the stretch. He shot 5-7 from the floor and was 4-4 from beyond the arc, giving him 16 points - his new career high.

Joel Embiid had another 30 point night, finishing with 32. He added 12 rebounds to his stat line, adding another double-double to his resume. He leads all players in the NBA with 19 on the season. Oh, and he did this:

Halfway through the fourth quarter, I was preparing to write a recap of how the Brooklyn Nets appear to be the Sixers’ kryptonite. How even though the Sixers controlled their turnovers, something that consistently plagues them, it was still not enough to beat the Nets. They proved me wrong, however, and I’m grateful that they did. Thanks to Jimmy freaking Butler.

After exacting their revenge on the Nets for handing them the worst loss of the season, the Sixers will head back to Philadelphia for a game on Wednesday against the New York Knicks.

JIMMY BUTLER, BABY.

Other Game Notes:

Besides sealing the game with his 3-pointer, Butler was the team’s high scorer with 34 points. He shot 83.3% from beyond the arc and was perfect from the free throw line. He also tallied 12 rebounds.

The Sixers shot terribly from the free throw line in the first quarter, shooting only 50% on 10 attempts. Following the first quarter, the Sixers only missed one free throw for the rest of the game, finishing 81.8 FT% as a team (27-33).

Ben Simmons continued to play a more aggressive style of basketball. He finished with 13 points and 9 assists.

D’Angelo Russell was the game’s point leader with 38 points on 28 shots.