Jimmy Butler Had a Hilarious Response to Suspension Ahead of Kings Game

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler will be unavailable when the team takes on the Sacramento Kings on Monday evening after the National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended him for one game following an altercation against the New Orleans Pelicans.

On Friday, Butler tangled with Pelicans forward Naji Marshall after a hard foul sent Zion Williamson to the floor in the fourth quarter. Marshall bumped into Kevin Love as he came to help Williamson up, and Butler pursued him. Marshall then pushed Butler's neck, and the skirmish picked up steam, involving multiple players on both teams.

In total, five players received suspensions. Heat center Thomas Bryant and Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado got three games apiece for leaving the bench. Butler, Heat guard Nikola Jović, and Marshall all received one game apiece.

Per the NBA, Butler was penalized for "instigating and engaging in an on-court altercation."

Butler was less than apologetic postgame.

"I don't think I should have got thrown out the game, first of all," he told reporters. "So New Orleans got lucky because I was going to come after you in the fourth quarter."

When news of the suspension hit, Butler remained defiant, telling reporters he was unsurprised and, "I'm basically still on All-Star break."

Butler wasn't quite done. He took to Instagram after news of the suspension broke, posting several songs to his stories that appeared to be in response, including "Locked Up" by Akon, "Jail" by Ye, formerly Kanye West, and "Life" by K-Ci & JoJo, which is about serving a life sentence in prison.

The 34-year-old also posted an edited photo of himself and Jović under the Bad Boys movie franchise logo, which included a photo location as the Miami-Dade County Jail.

"It was all @nikolajovicc fault," Butler wrote, tagging his teammate.

Butler spent the day Sunday drinking wine in California's wine country, which he posted enthusiastically to his Instagram stories as well.

The Heat held on to beat the Pelicans on Friday, claiming a 106-95 victory. Miami has been rolling lately, winning seven of its last nine games to move up to seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. The Heat entered last year's playoffs as the No. 8 seed before rattling off upset victories in the postseason against the 1-seed Milwaukee Bucks, 4-seed New York Knicks and 2-seed Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals before falling to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.

Friday's game marked Butler's return to the floor after he missed the final three games before the All-Star break due to the death of a family member.

Butler has been a crucial piece for the Heat this season, averaging 21.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting an uncharacteristic 44.7 percent from behind the arc (Butler is a 32.8 percent shooter from 3-point range for his career). The Heat is 7.2 points per 100 possessions with Butler on the floor, the second-best total on the team behind only Jović (+12.5) in nearly 1,000 fewer minutes played.

Butler's suspension will lift in time for Tuesday's game against the Trail Blazers.