Was Jimmy Butler Fouled On Last-Second Shot? Bulls Star Insists He Was

Foul or no foul?

That’s the question on everyone’s minds after the controversial end to Thursday’s Boston Celtics-Chicago Bulls game. Did Marcus Smart really graze Jimmy Butler’s elbow on a missed jumper with 0.9 seconds remaining, and should that supposed contact have been the difference between a Celtics win and a 104-103 loss?

First, here’s the play in question:

The Celtics, obviously, believed they got screwed by the call. But Butler insisted it was pretty clear-cut.

“A foul’s a foul. (Smart) hit my elbow,” Butler said after the game, via The Chicago Tribune. “I don’t care what nobody says. I think I’m making it if he don’t alter it like that.”

Smart didn’t say specifically whether he touched Butler’s elbow. Yet a screengrab shows his fingers might have barely grazed the Bulls star on his shooting arm.

If that’s the case, then by strict definition, it’s a foul. Still, you hate to see a game decided on such a ticky-tack call, especially since the referee made it a couple seconds after Butler already had shot the ball.

Thumbnail photo via Mike DiNovo/USA TODAY Sports Images