After Grant Williams got thoroughly baptized in Game 2 of the series, it was teammate Al Horford’s turn to feel the wrath of Jimmy Butler in Game 3.
Butler and the Miami Heat choke-slammed the Boston Celtics on Sunday, beating them by a 128-102 final to go up 3-0 in their Eastern Conference Finals series. During one particular moment in the third quarter when the Heat had already blown the game open, Butler did some trolling. After teammate Gabe Vincent hit a transition three to extend the lead to 23, Butler got down on a knee and made a timeout signal toward Horford.
Check it out.
Butler’s timeout signal to Horford.
LOVE THAT MAN 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/VM2SQrz7wI
— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) May 22, 2023
It actually wasn’t so much disrespect on Butler’s part as it was revenge. In Game 1 of the series between the Heat and Celtics, Horford did the exact same thing after hitting a big three and forcing Miami to call a timeout.
Jimmy Butler mocks Al Horford and called the timeout for the Celtics 😂 pic.twitter.com/VFUaFDyw4q
— Backcourt Alerts (@BackcourtAlerts) May 22, 2023
There are levels to trolling. Horford did it in the opening game of the series (which Boston ended up losing). Butler did it in the third game of the series as Miami had all but clinched a commanding 3-0 lead. Advantage: Butler.
The Heat superstar Butler actually didn’t have to do much heavy lifting in Game 3. With 16 points, Butler was outscored by his teammates Vincent (29), Duncan Robinson (22), and Caleb Martin (18) and got to sit out the entire fourth quarter. As such, Butler was able to mostly focus on trolling, which is something that he does really darn well.
