Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra lavished praise on Jimmy Butler following his side's 120-85 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, labelling him the "ultimate competitor."
Without the injured Kyle Lowry, Butler led the Heat with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while keeping turnovers to a relatively low two despite higher usage.
After scoring 33 and 40 points respectively in losses on the road, Butler had more of a supporting crew in Game 5, as six other Heat players scored in double digits.
Spoelstra singled Butler out not only for his versatility, and how that drives the Heat, but his character.
"Jimmy is just such a stable, high IQ…he's got a great feel for what the team needs, and he does it on both ends and that's what's really kind of lost on young players coming into this league," Spoelstra said post-game.
"He has orchestrated so many things for us offensively, particularly with Kyle [Lowry] out, and he's been able to toggle between those roles seamlessly, and make it look a lot easier than it is."
Shots fell for the Heat as they took a 3-2 series lead, converting on 39.4 per cent of attempts from the perimeter and finishing with 26 assists as a team.
Butler finished Game 5 with an impressive defensive rating of 87.7, and Spoelstra believes his competitive spirit is transformative in both individual and collective senses.
"In terms of being just a scoring option tonight, he was that scoring option but also facilitating for us, he was kind of initiating offense for us quite a bit," he said. "You just feel our whole team has a great sense of confidence when the ball's in Jimmy's hands and we leave the decision up to him.
"He's a great competitor in his heart and his soul. He's an ultimate competitor and when you get into competition, he understands the whole deal. You have to be able to do it on both ends.
"That's what he's been doing for us for three years, really competing for us on both ends, but he's able to compete with a ferocity and do it with an incredibly stable mind."
Durant refuses to pin Suns defeat to Lakers on controversial timeout
Kevin Durant did not look to use a contentious timeout call as an excuse after the Phoenix Suns slipped to a 106-103 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns were left furious after the referee elected to call a timeout following LeBron James' call, when the ball appeared to be loose, late in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's in-season tournament quarter-final.
With 15 seconds remaining, Davin Booker dispossessed Austin Reaves, with James swiftly requesting a timeout, which was granted.
Suns coach Frank Vogel fumed: "It's a loose ball, and you can't call a timeout on a loose ball.
"The whistle blows. I don't know why. Everything in the league is reviewable. I don't know why that can't be reviewable.
"We've got the trap, we've got the turnover, [and the] damn whistle blows. It's just frustrating."
Durant, though, did not share his coach's anger.
"That's not the ballgame," said Durant, who led the Suns with 31 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
"That's one play. It's a 48-minute game. I don't like to complain about calls.
"Sometimes the ref isn't going to get it right all the time. Sometimes it's on us to play through all that stuff and not worry about putting the game in the ref's hands."
Reaves added: "There was no call, and LeBron made a high-IQ play he's made a million times.
Vogel did, however, echo Durant's sentiment that the Suns did not do enough to win the tie and progress to Las Vegas.
"We didn't do enough early in the game," Vogel said. "The turnovers and on the glass, if we do a better job, we're not talking about a close game like that."
The Lakers will now face the New Orleans Pelicans for a place in the final of the inaugural in-season tournament, with the winner taking home the NBA Cup.
"You've got some of the most alpha male competitors in the world, and if you give us an opportunity to play for something meaningful or an incentive, then you get what you're getting," said James, who finished with 31 points and 11 assists.
"The in-season tournament is what it is, and we have an opportunity to play on a big stage, be on national television, represent our families, our communities, where we come from."
Bucks hint at offensive dominance in Knicks rout
The Milwaukee Bucks will not always hit the height of their potential, but Damian Lillard suggested Tuesday's big win over the New York Knicks can be a sign of what is to come.
The Bucks ran out 146-122 winners over the Knicks in their NBA in-season tournament quarter-final.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points and 10 rebounds, while Lillard contributed 28 points, as the Bucks, who are second in the Eastern Conference, teed up a semi-final against the Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas.
Lillard warned it was too much to expect the Bucks to perform like that in every game, but he said the team have laid down a marker.
"I thought this was probably our best offensive game," said Lillard.
"That doesn't mean we're going to turn into a team that does that every night, but I do think we have that type of explosiveness.
"We can't depend on having these types of nights every time, but it's definitely a look at the kind of nights we can have offensively.
"It's been some bumps in that process where we don't play so great some nights but we're still able to win those games.
"I think now is just starting to get a little smoother, knowing where we should be on the floor, knowing how to give each other outlets, knowing how to help each other be who we are.
"It's not perfect, but I just like that we're showing improvement and it's carrying over and you can see it on the floor."
Lillard added that winning the in-season tournament would be a statement of intent.
"You come out of this thing on top, the last team standing, I think it's a pretty strong statement," he said. "It's something that everybody around the league has to respect."
"Tonight was a huge step. We wanted to get to Vegas," Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said.
"But when we get to Vegas, we've got to take care of business. We still got two games to win there."
NBA: Lakers, Bucks advance to In-Season Tournament semifinals
The Los Angeles Lakers secured a spot in the In-Season Tournament semifinals on Tuesday with a 106-103 win over the Phoenix Suns, as LeBron James scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter.
James had 15 of the Lakers’ first 19 points in the final quarter and got the assists on his teammates’ other two baskets as Los Angeles pulled ahead.
Anthony Davis tallied 27 points and 15 rebounds and Austin Reaves added 20 points, including a key 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to extend the Lakers’ lead to 105-101.
Los Angeles advances to face New Orleans on Thursday in Las Vegas.
Kevin Durant scored 31 points for the Suns but came up short on a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Bucks handle Knicks to reach semifinals
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points and 10 assists to help the Milwaukee Bucks book a spot in the semifinals of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament with a 146-122 victory over the New York Knicks.
Damian Lillard added 28 points and Malik Beasley had 18 for the Bucks, who improved to 5-0 in tournament play with their ninth consecutive home win.
They set a season high in scoring, shooting 60.5 percent (23 of 38) from 3-point range and 60.4 percent overall to set up a matchup with Indiana in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Julius Randle scored a season-high 41 points on 14-of-19 shooting, and Jalen Brunson had 24 points, but the Knicks had a three-game win streak stopped.
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