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The Miami Heat sank 40 free throws in a row, setting a new NBA record

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler drives to the basket during the team's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
Wilfredo Lee
/
AP
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler drives to the basket during the team's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

There's no doubt the Miami Heat were on fire Tuesday night.

The squad's matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder was tied 111-111 with just 12 seconds left on the clock when star forward Jimmy Butler stepped to the free throw line for one last attempt.

Butler made the shot, giving the Heat the one-point lead they needed to win the game.

And that wasn't all: His final basket also meant that the Heat broke an NBA record — for the most successful free throws in a row in one game — by going 40-for-40 from the line.

"I had no idea," Butler said of the record after the game, according to Yahoo! Sport. "I'm more excited that we won this game by one point."

The team torched the 39-basket record set by the Utah Jazz in 1982.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters he didn't know the team hadn't missed any free throws until after the game.

"We've been a good free-throw-shooting team – actually a very good free-throw-shooting team – all year, but that's crazy," Spoelstra said.

Butler scored 23 of the Heat's free throws which puts him in a tie for No. 2 in consecutive successful free throws — and the team broke the record despite having multiple players out with injuries.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Joe Hernandez
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
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