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At halftime of the Chicago Bulls' 101-99 victory against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, it was not clear that Jimmy Butler would finish the night as a hero. The lowly Nets led the Bulls 49-43 after two quarters, and Butler had 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

Butler, though, is capable of heating up in a hurry. Last season, he scored 40 points in a half. Against Brooklyn, he went for 27 after halftime, shooting 9 for 14 and tying his season high of 40 points. That included the buzzer-beater, a jumper over the outstretched arms of Bojan Bogdanovic:

Two things:

  • Bogdanovic gave Butler way too much space. That was a nice stepback, but it looked incredibly easy.
  • This play alone doesn't capture how Butler took over down the stretch. After an injury scare involving his ankle, Butler checked in the game with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter. From that point, he scored or assisted on all of the 13 points Chicago scored.