Jimmy Butler: 76ers HC Brown's NSFW Halftime Speech 'Shocked Me a Little Bit'

Philadelphia 76ers small forward Jimmy Butler said he enjoyed the vulgar halftime speech by head coach Brett Brown during the team's 145-123 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2 of their first-round series Monday night.

Rich Hofmann of The Athletic provided comments from Butler, who noted the impassioned monologue did catch him a bit off guard.

"He came in here, said a few cuss words, shocked me a little bit to tell you the truth," Butler said. "But I like it, that's the type of energy I love."

Jamie Apody of WPVI-TV provided more of Butler's response:

The Sixers, who led by one point at the break, responded by scoring 51 points in the third quarter to pull away from the Nets for good to level the Eastern Conference series at one game apiece.

76ers Third Quarter Highlight Reel

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Butler didn't play a major role in the crucial victory, tallying just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting to go along with seven assists and four rebounds.

Six other Philly players reached double figures in scoring, led by center Joel Embiid with 23 points. Ben Simmons chipped in a triple-double with 18 points, 12 assists and 10 boards.

One of the biggest challenges coaches face during the long 82-game regular season is guiding their team in a manner that doesn't cause their halftime and sideline discussions to become white noise by the time the playoffs roll around.

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets - Game Highlights

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who's guided his team to two straight titles and three championships in the past four years, talked about that issue with Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle last week.

"For certain games, certain stretches, it's important for me to figure out, 'Do I accept this for now or do I challenge them?'" he said. "I think you have to pace your team accordingly—to understand when to give them space without giving them an excuse, and when to push their buttons a little bit. … I've been much more lenient this year, trying to guide us through the rocky road."

Brown seems to have toed that line successfully because when he demanded more in his halftime speech Monday night, the Sixers responded with perhaps their best quarter of the year.