Jimmy Butler was in takeover mode as he towed the Miami Heat to a win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Jimmy Butler Takeover and other takeaways (November 11)

• The Miami Heat should have cruised past a short-handed Charlotte Hornets squad, but they needed every bit of Jimmy Butler’s heroics to carve a 117-112 win in overtime. The Hornets opened up the fourth quarter with a scintillating 22-6 run before Butler subbed in to right the ship. Butler finished with a game-high 35 markers, delivering the goods for the Heat in the second half up to overtime. Still, this should have been an easy W for Miami considering that Charlotte played without key cogs LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, and Cody Martin.

• Speaking of undermanned teams, the Washington Wizards came in without stars Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis today and still defeated Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, 113-105. Without their two top scorers, their third-leading scorer Kyle Kuzma stepped up on offense, tallying a season-high 36 points. Another young wing in Rui Hachimura also turned in a good scoring performance for the Wizards, as he came off the bench to chip in 23. Washington is now seeded 6th (6-6 record) in the East standings, and wins like this should be a morale booster for the whole team.

• For the second straight game, Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey struggled to get it going. After shooting just 4-of-18 in the Sixers’ previous game, Maxey was only 5-of-17 in today’s 104-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Despite a couple of hiccups, Maxey is still averaging 22.9 points this season so look for the third-year guard to be back in his efficient self sooner than later.

• Defense was the name of the game for the Damian Lillard-less Portland Trail Blazers in today’s 106-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. They forced the Pels to 17 total turnovers, with Jerami Grant accounting for four steals. The Blazers, who are now second in the West with a 9-3 record, are currently ranked 5th in defensive rating (109.4). Their defense will get another boost when newly-acquired defensive menace Gary Payton II returns to the court.