Butler dupes Valanciunas with fake high-5
by Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports
Toronto Raptors rookie Jonas Valanciunas was 10 years old when Caron Butler made his NBA debut. Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
The Raptors beat Butler’s Los Angeles Clippers 98-73 Friday night, but any hope of bragging rights were lost for Valanciunas, the No. 5 pick in the 2011 draft. Why? Because 32-year-old Butler schooled him playground-style.
Valanciunas, playing after missing 18 games with a broken finger, inexplicably was dribbling out the clock on the win with about 10 seconds left when Butler approached him for a high-five. This must have been a cool experience for Valanciunas, ending the Raptors’ biggest win of the season with the ball in his hands and some props coming from a two-time All-Star and 11-season veteran.
Then, pop!
Butler just rips the ball from his hands like a menace against society. The referee barely knows what to do as Butler streaks down the court, with Valanciunas eventually catching up to him for a rather unnecessary foul.
But hey, when you get okie-doked like that, it’s understandable to be frustrated.
Valanciunas finished with five fouls, three rebounds and zero points in his first game back. Butler had 12 points, eight rebounds and one awesome steal.
This classic play overshadows a game in which the Raptors’ new star wowed a sellout crowd. Rudy Gay scored 20 points in his debut for Toronto after Wednesday’s three-team trade in which he came over from the Memphis Grizzlies. The rout came against the scuffling Clippers, who were without Chris Paul for the sixth consecutive game.
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