The Philadelphia 76ers evened the series against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, thanks in large part to a big time performance from Jimmy Butler. Following the 94-89 win, in which Butler had a team-high 30 points with 11 rebounds and five assists, Sixers head coach Brett Brown described his All Star shooting guard as, "James Butler, the adult in the gym."
"This was James Butler," Brown said. "That was the adult in the gym. ... He was just a tremendous sort of rock. He willed us to a lot of different situations. ... He was a stud. He really was an adult in the gym."
And that's probably the last time Brown will use the name "James." When told of his coach's assessment, Butler quickly replied, "My name isn't James. It is literally Jimmy."
According to ESPN, last night's W marked the first time the Sixers have won in Toronto since November 10, 2012 - a streak that spanned 14 games.
"Everybody wants to paint the picture that we haven't won here in however many years," Butler said. "I'm just glad that we came out on top. We don't care how many games we've lost, nothing like that."
Joel Embiid, who was once again dealing with knee issues in addition to some stomach problems, said of Butler, "Told him that he had to carry us, and he did that, and that was amazing."
The series now shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3, scheduled to tipoff at 8:00pm ET on Thursday, May 2.