At halftime of Sunday's game against the Toronto Raptors, Jimmy Butler had exactly two points. The Bulls found themselves down by 12, and that's when Butler decided to go en fuego. Butler destroyed the Raps in the second half, dropping a Bulls record previously held by Michael Jordan for points in a half by pouring in 40 of them on 14-19 shooting. Jordan dropped 39 in a half in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks in 1989.
Butler's virtuoso performance included a huge 3-pointer from the right corner the put the Bulls up two with just thirty seconds to go. He also played all of the second half with stitches in his mouth after being elbowed by DeMarre Carroll in the second quarter.
You can miss Butler with all the MJ comparisons, though. He's really not here for it.
"Don't compare me to him," Butler said. "I don't want to be compared to him because then people are going to think I got to do what he did. I'm trying, but we're nowhere near the same player."
For now, Butler is very quickly cementing his status as the best player on the Chicago Bulls, and it's not really even close.
[Via USA Today]
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