Jimmy Butler may not have been on the court for Game 2, but he made his presence felt before the game.
Tyler Herro, who led the Heat to a win over the Celtics with 24 points, said Butler contacted him to get the team together before the Heat and Boston met in the first round.
“Before the series begins [Jimmy Butler] I texted you to lead this team and lead these guys,” Herro said after the Heat won 111-101 to tie the series at one game apiece. “Just make all the right plays. It’s not all about scoring. You have to make the right plays in the playoffs.
“Everyone came out to play. Even though we lost badly in the first game, everyone responded. That’s all you can ask for from a group of guys.”
Even though Butler is recovering from an MCL injury sustained during the play-in tournament, he couldn’t help but poke fun at the Celtics on Instagram.
Butler is pictured with Jaylen Brown in what looks like an old ESPN graphic from last season’s playoff series between the two East teams, where Brown warned Miami not to give the win after the Heat led 3-0 in the series. Edited my head onto the body. conference finals.
The Celtics made a brave comeback, but lost in seven games.
“Maybe I’ll delete it later because it’s a cute touch. Shikeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyy ones out there out I don’t delete shit” Butler captioned her post.
He also posted a video of himself doing a fist pump after his victory on his Instagram Story.
Butler was sidelined with an MCL injury suffered in last week’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The injury occurred during the first quarter of an April 18 game when Kelly Oubre Jr. landed on Butler as the Heat star took a shot under the basket.
Butler stayed in the game and finished the night with 19 points, five assists, and five steals in 40 minutes.
On Wednesday against Boston, Herro had a game-high 14 assists while making six of the Heat’s playoff-record 23 3-pointers.
Miami had three players score at least 20 points in the win, including Herro.
Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Caleb Martin had 21 points of his own with two boards.
The series now returns to Miami, with Games 3 and 4 to be played at Caseya Center.
