76ers’ Kelly Oubre Jr. Responds to Jimmy Butler’s Viral IG Comment with 50 Cent Video | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
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Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. has responded to Jimmy Butler’s viral comment in the wake of the Miami Heat star suffering a knee injury in the Sixers’ 105-104 win in the NBA play-in tournament on Wednesday.
After the Heat announced Butler has been ruled out for Friday’s play-in game against the Chicago Bulls due to a sprained MCL, the six-time All-Star tagged Oubre on Instagram and wrote, “we throwing hands.”
Oubre was able to get his response to Butler on Friday by paying homage to 50 Cent’s classic video when he was called out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Warning: Video contains NSFW language).
Butler suffered the injury on the final play of the first quarter. He caught a long inbounds pass from Kevin Love, pump-faked at the basket and drew a foul when Oubre made contact with his knee.
After writhing in pain for a short period, Butler was able to stay in the game. He made one of his two free-throw attempts to give the Heat a 23-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Butler opened the game strong with seven points, two rebounds and two steals in the opening period. He scored just 12 points over the final three quarters and shot just 5-of-18 from the field overall.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Butler is expected to miss “several weeks” after being diagnosed with a sprained MCL.
Even as Butler was dealing with the injury for most of the game, the Heat were able to open up a 14-point lead in the second quarter. Their defense collapsed in the second half, allowing 66 points on 50 percent shooting (9-of-17 from three-point range).
Nicolas Batum saved the 76ers with a season-high 20 points in 17 minutes off the bench.
Injuries have been a huge problem for the Heat all season. Butler and Tyler Herro combined to miss 62 games during the regular season. Terry Rozier, their big trade-deadline acquisition, has missed five straight games due to a neck injury.
The win allowed Philadelphia to secure the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round playoff matchup with the New York Knicks.
Miami has to defeat the Bulls on Friday night to clinch the No. 8 seed and a showdown with the Boston Celtics in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, though it seems unlikely Butler would be able to play in the series if it happens.
