Jimmy Butler Feels Great Beating Embiid, Sixers in Playoffs

The Philadelphia 76ers have found plenty of success when playing at home in the second-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. After the Sixers dropped

The Philadelphia 76ers have found plenty of success when playing at home in the second-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. After the Sixers dropped their first two matchups on the road to open the series, they picked up two-straight wins when they played in South Philly to tie the series up.

A lackluster effort in Game 5 in Miami resulted in a blowout in favor of the Heat. For the third-straight game, Miami’s star forward Jimmy Butler dominated on the offensive end against his former team.

Ahead of the Game 6 matchup at home, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers mentioned that the team needed to make key adjustments to make Butler uncomfortable to prevent him from having another dominant performance.

“We have to get in his airspace,” said Rivers after Game 5. “Jimmy’s so comfortable right now. It’s really been three games in a row where he’s just doing everything he wants to do. There are adjustments we can make. There are some we really don’t want to have to make, but we may have to.”

Philly’s effort to slow down Butler was unsuccessful on Thursday night. As the All-Star checked in for 42 minutes in Game 6, he knocked down 45-percent of his shots from the field for a game-high of 32 points. He also collected eight rebounds and contributed to four assists and two blocks on the defensive end.

Thanks to another strong showing from Butler, the Miami Heat managed to pick up a 99-90 win over the Sixers, helping the Heat advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Butler would’ve been thrilled with the circumstances no matter what, but the fact that he put away his former team to move on was special for the All-Star.

“It means a lot,” Butler admitted. “But [it means a lot] to win any series.” Butler was clearly revengeful on Thursday as he wanted to stick it to his former organization. He also enjoyed being on the winning end of his friendly rivalry with Sixers' center, Joel Embiid. 

“With a squad like Philly and the talent that they have, Joel [Embiid], my guy, my brother, who I picked for MVP, feels good to beat him, I’m not gonna lie to you,” Butler finished. “I’ve got a lot of love for this city, love for guys like him, so any team we can beat a tough team, it’s special.”

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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