‘That Was the Adult in the Gym’: Jimmy Butler Leads Sixers to Game 2 Win in Toronto
“James Butler,” in the words of Sixers head coach Brett Brown “was the adult in the gym” Monday night as he led Philadelphia to a critical 94-89 win against the Raptors.
Butler—”my name isn’t James. It’s literally Jimmy”—finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds, and credited his team’s defense for knotting up the second-round series at 1-1.
Joel Embiid, who was dealing with a bout of gastroenteritis, added 12 points and six rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard had a game-high 35 points, but said Toronto was too slow out of the blocks.
Per Philly.com:
“That was James Butler. Like that was the adult in the gym,” Brown said of Butler, who finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and a block.
The swingman made 9 of 22 shots – including going 4-for-10 on three-pointers – to erase memories of his subpar Game 1 performance. Butler scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter Monday.
“Everybody told me to come out aggressive, shoot the shots that were there,” Butler said. “I think I passed the ball when I wasn’t open, maybe a little bit later, as some people may say.
“But all-in-all man, we guarded. I think that’s the reason that we won.”
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