Jimmy Butler calls out Kelly Oubre Jr. following his MCL injury diagnosis
The Miami Heat's hopes of going on another Cinderella run from the Play-In to the NBA Finals have been dashed after star player Jimmy Butler suffered an injury in their previous game. During the battle to determine the seventh seed, the Heat star got hurt towards the end of the first quarter after Kelly Oubre Jr. fell on his leg.
Miami's official Instagram page issued an update on Butler's condition, sharing that he will now miss the Play-In game to determine the eighth seed versus the Chicago Bulls. Under the post, the star left a comment specifically for the player who inadvertently caused his injury.
In the post's comments, Jimmy Butler tagged Kelly Oubre Jr. and told him that they were "throwing hands," which is slang for getting into a fistfight.
Jimmy Butler remained in the game after getting hurt
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are determined to get back into the Playoffs after falling short in the NBA Finals last year. This determination was evident as Butler remained in the previous game, even after his injury. This is impressive, considering Butler got hurt just as the first quarter was ending.
With under five seconds left and the score knotted at 22, the Heat attempted to get one more shot by throwing an outlet pass to Butler, who was alone and looked like he had an open layup. Instinctively, he went for a pump fake just as Oubre was hustling for a chase-down block.
The fake did its job, and Oubre elevated for the contest. However, he ended up jumping over Butler and then subsequently falling on his right leg. It was evident that Butler was hurt as he grabbed his right knee and writhed in pain. He eventually got on his feet and limped to the free-throw line, where he sank one of his two free throws.
Butler remained on the court for the rest of the game and even ended up playing almost 40 minutes but was obviously not the same. After hitting for seven points on 2-for-4 shooting as well as two steals in just the first quarter, he went 0-for-4 in the second. Then, in the entirety of the second half, he shot only 30.0%, going 3-for-10 for nine points.
In total, Jimmy Butler scored 19 points on 5-for-18 shooting. Despite playing through the pain, though, he showed up on the defensive end, coming away with a total of five steals.
However, it would not be enough as the Philadelphia 76ers escaped with a one-point 105-104 victory. This sends the Heat to face the Bulls for the eighth seed without their primary star.