NBA Briefs: Jimmy Butler goes berserk Philadelphia 76ers; Lebron falls short

Jimmy Butler has come up clutch for the Philadelphia 76ers and proved he is one of the best in the NBA when the game is on the line.

To the horror of home fans in Brooklyn, Jimmy Butler sinks the game-winning three.

Jimmy Butler has knocked back a last second three-pointer to give the Philadelphia 76ers an unbelievable 127-125 win against the Brooklyn Nets.

The 76ers scored first and then didn’t lead until the final two minutes after being dominated for the first three quarters.

The lead ballooned out to 19 for the Nets in the third. But the 76ers weren’t done.

It was the Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid show as the superstars put on 34 and 32 points each.

Butler saved his best for the final quarter, scoring a massive 18 points to orchestrate a 16-2 run to snatch the lead.

But his most important score came with 0.4 seconds left.

As the teams traded shots, Butler came up clutch to steal the win with a step back three.

JIMMY BUCKETS FTW 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CdvWQwC1cq

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 26, 2018

It was looking to be a terrible night for the 76ers, who were down at 14 at half-time and didn’t seem to be going with the Nets.

With his teammates going berserk, Aussie Ben Simmons had a relatively quiet night with 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists.

Butler has been on fire in his short time with the 76ers and has already made a habit of coming up clutch.

Social media exploded after the mind-bending finish.

RHJ played great D on Jimmy Butler. A great player just made a ridiculously tough shot.

— Ryan Ruocco (@RyanRuocco) November 26, 2018

Jimmy Butler: "They told me to put the game away."

— Drew Corrigan (@Dcorrigan50) November 26, 2018

🔥🔥🔥 Jimmy Butler 🔥🔥🔥

💥2 Buzzer Beaters in as many weekends - 2nd in 9 Days!!!
💥Butler scored 18 of his 34 in the 4th including Winner with 0.04 vs Nets
💥Butler says this 3 is his favorite move! @6abc #JimmyButler #Sixers #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/L6QDdrj7BO

— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) November 26, 2018

Shout out to Jimmy Butler for bailing out the Sixers yet again after they gave up 125 points to the Nets which, according to science, isn’t possible #HereTheyCome

— Jonny Loquasto (@JQuasto) November 26, 2018

Starting to feel pretty confident in the Jimmy Butler step back game-winning shot thing.

— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) November 26, 2018

Pretty sure the Sixers will be in good shape if 2 of 3 of Simmons, Embiid, or Butler have a good night.

If they can get some bench stability/consistency, that's how they can get to the ECF. https://t.co/oy3uvljmEI

— Ian Riccaboni (@IanRiccaboni) November 26, 2018

Last week, Butler hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the 76ers 122-119 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Butler finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds, and Joel Embiid had 32 points and 12 boards for the 76ers.

D’Angelo Russell had 38 points, his highest total with the Nets, and added eight assists and eight rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 31 points off the bench.

LEBRON’S LAKERS FALL SHORT

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James couldn’t get his side over the line.

For the second time in eight days LeBron James has been unable to lead his Los Angeles Lakers to victory over the Orlando Magic in the NBA.

James scored 24 points for the Lakers but it wasn’t enough as they went down 108-104 at the Staples Center.

LA have recorded seven victories in their past nine games with both of those defeats to the Magic.

The Lakers tied the game at 104-all with 2:24 min remaining on a pair of free throws by James, but they missed four three-point attempts down the stretch.

Nikola Vucevic scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Magic — to follow on from his season-high 36 points in last week’s 130-117 defeat of LA.

Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points for the Lakers, while Brandon Ingram added 17.

LA are now 11-8 for the season while the Magic’s four victories in their past six games improved them to 10-10.

Detroit Pistons boosted their record to 10-7 with a 118-107 win over Phoenix Suns.

Andre Drummond had 19 points, 16 rebounds and five steals for Detroit while Reggie Jackson contributed 19 points and eight assists and Blake Griffin chipped in with 16 points and 11 assists.

Devin Booker’s 37 points led the Suns, who wrapped up a four-game road trip, while guard Jamal Crawford reached the 19,000-point mark for his career with a first-half three-pointer.

Phoenix forward TJ Warren was ejected for arguing an offensive foul call during the second quarter.

— AP

HORNETS SNAP 10-GAME SLIDE

John Collins had 23 points and 11 rebounds and blocked Kemba Walker’s runner as time expired, helping the Atlanta Hawks snap a 10-game losing streak with a 124-123 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.

Walker, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, hit a jumper to put Charlotte up by one with 47.5 seconds remaining, but he committed a shot-clock turnover on the next possession and finished seven for 23 from the field for 22 points.

Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker passes as Atlanta Hawk Taurean Prince defends.

Kent Bazemore scored 20 points and hit the go-ahead basket for Atlanta, taking an inbound pass and driving down the left side past Dwayne Bacon for a layup with 4.6 seconds to go.

The Hawks began the game with NBA’s worst record and had the league’s worst defense its 10-game skid, allowing an averaging of nearly 117 points.

Charlotte was the ninth opponent to score at least 40 in the first quarter against Atlanta.

Trae Young finished with 18 points, and the Hawks got 16 each from Taurean Prince and DeAndre’ Bembry.

Charlotte took its biggest lead at 13 on Bridges’ layup in the first minute of the second quarter.

The Hawks tied it at 60-all on Prince’s three at the two2-minute mark. The Hornets were up one entering the third.

— AP

Originally published as NBA Briefs: Jimmy Butler goes berserk Philadelphia 76ers; Lebron falls short