It may have been Doug McDermott who kept the Bulls within striking distance in the first half of Sunday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, but the 4th quarter belonged to Jimmy Butler. The Creighton kid came out of his recent shooting slump in a big way, pouring in a career high 31 points. Then Fred Hoiberg handed the reigns to his best player when it came time to seal the win. Butler delivered.
Here’s what Hoiberg had to say on Butler’s heroics to ESPN’s Nick Friedell after the game:
“In Jimmy’s case, it doesn’t matter if he’s 10-for-10, or 1-for-10. He’s going to step up with confidence in that fourth quarter and try to take over the game with supreme confidence and that’s a great luxury to have is when you have a guy, that you know you put the ball in his hands and he can close the game for you.” – Fred Hoiberg
Hoiberg’s right. Butler is dripping with confidence this season, playing at the highest level of his career. But he had a little extra motivation to take over and carry the Bulls to victory in Memphis.
Bad Idea
A Grizzlies fan seated a few rows behind the Bulls bench kept throwing trash talk at Butler, who had a slow start to his night. The fan could be heard saying things like “I’m watching you, Jimmy” and also bragged to his friends about successfully getting in Butler’s head. He definitely got in Butler’s head, but the end result was not what the fan intended.
Jimmy scored 9 of his 16 points in the 4th quarter, including back to back jumpers in the final minute to give the Bulls the lead. Then he stole the Grizzlies’ inbounds pass with a great hustle play to lock up the victory.
Butler returned to the bench, and stared up at the trash talker. “How are you going to do that to me?” the heartbroken fan said.
Jimmy’s response was classic: “I’m sorry. I love you, man.”
Moments later, the final horn sounded and the Bulls escaped with a 108-104 triumph. As Butler and his teammates walked down the tunnel back to the visiting locker room, the Grizzlies fan had his moment of realization.
“I pissed him off.”
Lesson learned the hard way for that disappointed fan in Memphis. Trash talking in Jimmy Butler’s direction is a risky move. It might just be the little extra juice the Bulls’ overworked workhorse needs to take over another 4th quarter.
