JIMMY BUTLER HAS opened up about the infamous practice he was involved in while he was still a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Butler asked to be moved out of Minnesota in mid-September and the team finally honoured his request by dealing him to the Philadelphia 76ers two months later.
But, shortly before he was traded, Butler took part in a scrimmage where he challenged multiple team-mates as well as Minnesota’s coaching staff and executives.
Butler discussed the incident during a recent appearance on The JJ Redick Podcast. Redick and Butler are now team-mates in Philadelphia.
The 29-year-old star said he was set off when someone in the organisation told him he had to practice.
“First of all, I have a for-real problem with authority,” Butler said. “When somebody’s telling me what to do as a grown man, I have a problem with it. So now you done lit the match, but ain’t nothin’ on fire yet. You just lit the match.
I was on one [angry], there you go. I was on one. All because he lit the match. I would’ve been cool otherwise.”
Butler said he started “yapping” after winning multiple scrimmages while playing with the Timberwolves’ third-stringers.
“I always talk, anyways. If you can’t tell, I’m always talking, talking about how somebody can’t guard me, or nobody can beat me,” Butler said. “I do that. That’s what I do. This time it was just a little bit different ’cause of whose team I was on and I ain’t been around, so it was just taken up a notch and it didn’t help who was watching – ownership, management, all of that good stuff.”
Butler reportedly had an impressive performance during the practice. But, he said “the most interesting detail” from that day had yet to be revealed.
“I was dominating, but I only shot the ball once,” Butler said. “Dimes, boom, boom, boom. Steals, blocks. I only shot the ball one time.”
Butler has averaged 19.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 13 games with the 76ers so far.
Raptors shrug off Kawhi loss
The Toronto Raptors shrugged off the absence of Kawhi Leonard to stretch their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference on Tuesday, breezing past the Los Angeles Clippers with a 123-99 victory.
Leonard, ruled out just hours before tip-off after complaining of a sore hip, could also miss the Raptors’ game against the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
Kawhi gets asked to talk about his favorite Christmas moment. His answer: “Not right now” (via @tomerazarly) pic.twitter.com/AZTBzBtPOK
— The Render (@TheRenderNBA) December 12, 2018
Toronto, however, laid on a devastating scoring display to overwhelm the Clippers and serve notice that they remain a formidable threat even without the in-form Leonard.
Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry led the way for the Raptors with 25 and 21 points respectively while four other players made double figures.
The Clippers offence however struggled to make any inroads against the Toronto defense, with starters Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari producing just 21 points between them.
Tyrone Wallace (15 points) and Boban Marjanovic (18) produced a burst of scoring off the bench, but the Clippers never threatened a Toronto team that surged into a 36-23 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Raptors improved to 22-7 with the win to go three games clear of Milwaukee at the top of the standings. The Clippers loss gives them an identical record to city rivals the Los Angeles Lakers, with both teams on 17-10.
Rockets snap losing streak
Earlier Tuesday, James Harden scored 29 points as the Houston Rockets halted their three-game losing streak with a 111-103 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Reigning NBA MVP Harden also chipped in four assists on a night when seven Rockets players finished in double digits.
Rockets point guard Chris Paul produced a triple double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as Houston improved to 12-14.
Mike D’Antoni’s side remain near the foot of the Western Conference, one place off the bottom ahead of the Phoenix Suns, who are 4-24.
“It’s big time for us,” Harden said of the win.
“Finally back at home and seemed like we were playing well. We’ve been putting some good quarters together, but tonight was a four quarter game and we had to just build around it.”
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