Wednesday 11 December 2019 08:38, UK
Jimmy Butler took to Instagram to rebuke Trae Young after the Miami Heat reeled off a 22-point rally to score a thrilling overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Young figured the game was over. As it turned out, Butler and the Heat were just getting started on one of the craziest stat nights in team history.
The Heat were down by six with 59 seconds left in regulation, the moment when Young took a celebratory walk back to the Atlanta bench for a timeout with Butler hearing him shout, "It's over".
Miami scored the next 22 points, the last six of regulation and then the first 16 of overtime to improve to 18-6 overall and 11-0 at home.
Duncan Robinson tied a franchise record with 10 three-pointers and Butler and Adebayo each had triple-doubles as the Heat's wild late flurry resulted in a 135-121 victory.
Kendrick Nunn scored a career-high 36 points, one off the Heat rookie single-game record. Robinson scored 34, a career-high. Adebayo finished with a career-high 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Butler had 20 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and 10 assists.
Afterwards, Butler couldn't resist a little jab at Young on Instagram, a post that other NBA players like Draymond Green and Klay Thompson quickly noticed.
"Everybody in this locker room has a confidence that they are the best player on the floor at any given time," Butler said. "Man, when you have got guys who think like that, nothing is ever over."
"I don't think anybody really thought the Heat were relevant," Adebayo said. "We are making people watch us."
It was the NBA's widest margin of victory in an overtime game since October 31, 2009, when Philadelphia beat New York 141-127.
"What is tough is Robinson goes 10-for-14, a career-high, two guys with triple-doubles, they played out of their minds a little bit with a couple of guys and we still had a six-point lead with under a minute to go," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. "I feel bad."
The Hawks used a 13-0 run to take an eight-point lead early in the fourth, before the Heat clawed back and eventually tied the game at 111-111 on a three-pointer by Robinson with 3:11 left.
Atlanta scored the next four to reclaim the lead, Butler missed a pair of free throws with 1:18 left and Alex Len had a dunk on the next Hawks possession for a 117-111 lead.
The rest was all Heat.
"Our energy was dead as soon as overtime started," Young said.
In other words, it was over.
