After the bench-clearing altercation that occurred during the Heat-Pelicans game Friday night, Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler, along with Nikola Jovic, was slapped with a one-game suspension. However, Butler seems unfazed by the suspension. In his latest Instagram story, Butler can be seen trying to pick up Serbian cheers from his co-suspended teammate Jovic.
Not only that, Butler even shared a flurry of screenshots of various songs ranging from “Locked Up” by Akon to “Jail” by Kanye West shortly after his suspension was announced.
Jimmy Butler’s latest IG story after hearing about his one-game suspension 💀 pic.twitter.com/ydTy7DW09n
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 25, 2024
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Furthermore, the six-time All-Star posted an edited poster of the movie, “Bad Boys” with his and Jovic’s faces on it. The caption read, “It was all Nikola Jovic’s fault” and the post also included the movie’s “Lock me up” scene to signify his suspension
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Five players received suspensions from the fight in the heated 4th quarter of the Heat’s 106-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Butler, teammate Nikola Jovic, and Pelicans forward Naji Marshall received one-game suspensions, while Heat center Thomas Bryant and Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado were suspended for three games. Jovic was suspended for leaving the bench area to join the altercation.
“Bad Boys”, Bad Fouls
The on-court drama unfolded late in Friday night’s match-up between the Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans. It all started with a controversial foul call on Miami’s Kevin Love against big man Zion Williamson. What followed was a heated exchange between Jimmy Butler and Naji Marshall. The situation escalated in no time, involving other players and leading to a multi-player ejection.
Butler, expressed strong disagreement with the decision, claiming he was merely trying to interject and prevent further escalation between Marshall and Love. Love, according to Butler, had held onto Williamson during a layup attempt, causing the Pelicans star to fall. Butler will lose nearly $260,000 in base salary due to his suspension. The other four players’ suspensions will cost them a combined total of approximately $115,000.
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Nikola Jovic has played two seasons for the Heat, averaging 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 38 regular-season games. Jimmy Butler has played 13 seasons for four teams, including the Bulls and Heat. He has averaged 18.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 792 regular-season games. He has been selected to six All-Star games and won one Most Improved Player award. In his last five games, he averaged 21.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists.
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While the Miami Heat was putting up a tough fight against the Sacramento Kings to win 121-110, Jimmy Butler was chilling at a restaurant, supporting his team from the sidelines with his newly learned Serbian cheer.