Miami Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler made it a habit to be at his best when the light shines the brightest. This is why it doesn’t surprise that it was Butler who willed the Heat to a 118-107 comeback win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics had a better first half, going on a break with an eight-point lead. But the second half was a whole other story, especially the third quarter. The Heat came out of the locker room as a team on a mission and absolutely demolished Boston with a 39-14 outing in the third period. The Celtics made the result more bearable in the fourth, but there was nothing they could do to avoid defeat.

Butler was the best player on the floor on Tuesday night, scoring 41 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. The 32-year-old player was also dominant on the defensive side of the ball, picking up four steals and three blocks. Two of his steals came early in the third quarter and resulted in five points. This provided a spark Miami needed to turn things around.

“This level is high level, this competition, and he senses it, and he knows it,” said Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra after the game. “He feels it. And he was able to produce and put us in a position to feel comfortable to be able to win this game.”

Three more Heat players were in double digits against the Celtics, while Tyler Herro had 18 points and eight boards off the bench.

The Heat vs. Celtics series remains in Miami for Game 2, which is scheduled for Thursday night.

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The Miami Heat are the first team to take care of the business in the second round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. The Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 99-90 in the deciding Game 6 to win the series 4-2 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

All-Star Jimmy Butler was once again the difference maker for Miami, scoring 32 points and adding eight rebounds and four assists. Butler was particularly hot in the third quarter, scoring 14 points to put the game out of the 76ers’ reach. The 32-year-old player averaged 27.5 points in the series against Philly.

“Jimmy is a great competitor,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after the game. “I think he’s one of the ultimate competitors in this profession.”

The Heat also saw a big contribution from shooting guard Max Strauss, a former two-way contract player, who had 20 points, 11 boards, and five assists. Veteran P.J. Tucker added 12 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.

MVP candidate Joel Embiid scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the 76ers but saw little help from the rest of his team. This was particularly the case with superstar James Harden, who once again struggled to make an impact. Harden only attempted nine shots and finished the night with 11 points.

The Heat, who will play in their second Eastern Conference Finals in three years, now waits to see who wins the matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. The first Eastern Conference Finals game is scheduled for May 17.

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The Miami Heat confirmed that Jimmy Butler has been ruled out of Wednesday night’s game against the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center in Portland. This comes after the forward injured his right ankle late on during the third quarter of Miami’s 115-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

Butler lost his footing while attempting to plant his right foot, subsequently falling to the ground while holding the ball. As a result, Butler, who was unable to put any weight on his ankle, had to be helped off the ground by two of his teammates as Miami decided to take a time out.

This is not the first time that the 32-year-old has experienced issues with his right ankle this season. He sprained this same ankle in November, thereby causing him to miss three games, after which he was ruled out of the ultimately postponed game against the San Antonio Spurs on December 29 due to turning his ankle the day before.

Prior to his exit from the Golden State Warriors game, Butler scored 22 points and five rebounds, proving to be an impactful player during the game.

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Jimmy Butler’s injury concerns have been extended after the Miami Heat star fell awkwardly during his side’s 105-90 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

After missing a driving layup early in the first quarter, Butler fell on his back, consequently aggravating his sustained tailbone injury. Immediately after the fall, Butler decided to play through the pain, however, he eventually had to leave the court during the third quarter.

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra shed light on Butler’s injury after the game, explaining: “He drew contact and got shoved and landed on his tailbone again. There could not have been a worse scenario for us to start the game. It is a contact sport. It’s an unpredictable thing. Insult to injury, we didn’t get the call on that either.”

Spoelstra further explained that the extent of Butler’s injury remains unclear until such time as further evaluations are performed.

The Heat is struggling as a result of injuries as of late, with several star players currently ruled out of action. Among them is All-Star center Bam Adebayo, who is expected to miss the next six weeks after undergoing thumb surgery. Markieff Morris remains unavailable due to a neck injury, despite participating in Monday’s pre-match warmups.

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The Miami Heat got their first win of the season on Friday, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 111-98 in their highly-anticipated Christmas Day matchup. And they managed to do so even with their superstar Jimmy Butler not playing down the stretch because of ankle issues.

Butler rolled his ankle in Wednesday’s loss to the Orlando Magic but felt he was ready to play against the Pelicans, and ended up starting the game. The 31-year-old veteran, however, ended up spending just 16 minutes on the court in the first half before being shut down. He scored four points and added six rebounds and five assists up to that point.

Despite being without their biggest star, Miami managed to get the job done thanks to Duncan Robinson’s great shooting night. Robinson made seven three-pointers out of 13 attempts, leading the Heat with 23 points. He also added five rebounds.

Robinson had help in All-Star center Bam Adebayo, who had 17 points and four boards while being a dominant defensive presence. Veteran point guard Goran Dragic also did his part, scoring 18 points and dishing nine assists off the bench.

New Orleans was led by young stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, who combined for more than half of the team’s total points. Williamson scored 32 points and had 14 rebounds, while Ingram had 28 points and three assists.

The Heat, who are now 1-1, will play their next game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. The Pelicans play the Spurs on Sunday.

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Not a lot of people expected to see Miami Heat in the NBA finals this season, which is why they enter the duel against the Los Angeles Lakers as overwhelming underdogs. But don’t tell that to Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Asked about how Heat measures up to the Lakers ahead of the Finals series, Butler said that he and his teammates are “a really good team.” He then proceeded to brush off the notion that Miami is underdogs.

“Not going to say that we’re any better than anybody else, but I just don’t think that we’re underdogs. I don’t,” Butler explained. 

Butler is aware that not a lot of people see Heat going all the way, but that doesn’t bother him.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to do this our way, the Miami Heat way, and that way has worked for us all year long,” he added.

Jimmy Butler proved himself to be a big part of Miami’s success this season, being a leader for the team on and off the court. Throughout the postseason, Butler has been averaging 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals.

Miami Heat finished the regular season as a fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and was a popular projection for a second-round exit. However, Heat silenced the critics with a dominant performance in the opening series, sweeping the Indiana Pacers. Miami then proceeded to show that they are the real deal by eliminating Milwaukee Bucks, regular season’s best team, in just five games.

Heat secured the Lakers showdown by beating Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. They closed out the Celtics series with a 4-2 result.

The post Jimmy Butler Says the Heat aren’t Underdogs in NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It appears that the All-Star guard Jimmy Butler didn’t enjoy his time with Philadelphia 76ers all that much. Speaking on The JJ Redick Podcast with Tommy Alter, Butler described his lone season in Philly as difficult.

The 76ers acquired Butler from Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018, with hopes to sign him to a long-term extension. However, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, and the player ended up joining Miami Heat via sign-and-trade.

Now Butler says that his experience in Philadelphia was chaotic to say at least.

“It was difficult. It was so different” Butler shared. “On any given day, me as a person and as a player, I didn’t know who the [expletive] was in charge. I think that was my biggest thing. I didn’t know what the [expletive] to expect whenever I would go into the gym, whenever I go into the plane, whenever I got into the game.”

Despite his mixed feelings about 76ers organization, Jimmy Butler played some great basketball during his time there. Besides averaging 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, Butler also emerged as the team’s main closer. He was credited for lifting the young and inexperienced team in tough moments and almost managed to propel Philly in Eastern Conference finals.

Despite this, reports said that 76ers had certain doubts about Butler’s character, which made them hesitant about giving him a long-term contract. Heat, on the other hand, didn’t have similar restraints and didn’t hesitate to jump on the opportunity.

Butler played 54 games with Heat this season, averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

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Miami Heat emerged as the front-runner to acquire Minnesota Timberwolves’ All-Star Jimmy Butler according to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski. After several proposals have been rejected in the past couple of days, Heat made revised trade offer on Wednesday and are hoping they are getting close to Timberwolves’ asking price for Butler.

Heat and Timberwolves have been engaged in talks for two weeks, but are unable to find common ground just yet. Minnesota has high demands for Butler, who asked for a trade before the beginning of training camp, and would like to get a combination of useful players, young prospects and draft picks. In talks with Miami, they are reportedly asking for center Bam Adebayo, guard Josh Richardson and a protected 2019 first-round pick among other requests.

Besides Miami Heat, several other teams have contacted Minnesota Timberwolves to discuss a trade including the Houston Rockets.

However, no team is yet ready to pay Timberwolves’ price for Jimmy Butler, mostly because the 29-year-old will become a free agent after this year. Another issue is that Minnesota is looking to offload center Gorgui Dieng and his $48 million contract in any potential deal.

When he asked for a trade, Butler named several teams as his preferred destinations including LA Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Knicks. Still, it remains unclear how interested these teams would be in giving assets for a player that they could sign next year for free.

The post Miami Heat Aggressively Pursuing a Trade for Jimmy Butler appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Miami Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler made it a habit to be at his best when the light shines the brightest. This is why it doesn’t surprise that it was Butler who willed the Heat to a 118-107 comeback win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics had a better first half, going on a break with an eight-point lead. But the second half was a whole other story, especially the third quarter. The Heat came out of the locker room as a team on a mission and absolutely demolished Boston with a 39-14 outing in the third period. The Celtics made the result more bearable in the fourth, but there was nothing they could do to avoid defeat.

Butler was the best player on the floor on Tuesday night, scoring 41 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. The 32-year-old player was also dominant on the defensive side of the ball, picking up four steals and three blocks. Two of his steals came early in the third quarter and resulted in five points. This provided a spark Miami needed to turn things around.

“This level is high level, this competition, and he senses it, and he knows it,” said Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra after the game. “He feels it. And he was able to produce and put us in a position to feel comfortable to be able to win this game.”

Three more Heat players were in double digits against the Celtics, while Tyler Herro had 18 points and eight boards off the bench.

The Heat vs. Celtics series remains in Miami for Game 2, which is scheduled for Thursday night.

The post Jimmy Butler’s 41 Points Help Heat to 118-107 Win Over Celtics in Game 1 of ECF appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Miami Heat are the first team to take care of the business in the second round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. The Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 99-90 in the deciding Game 6 to win the series 4-2 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

All-Star Jimmy Butler was once again the difference maker for Miami, scoring 32 points and adding eight rebounds and four assists. Butler was particularly hot in the third quarter, scoring 14 points to put the game out of the 76ers’ reach. The 32-year-old player averaged 27.5 points in the series against Philly.

“Jimmy is a great competitor,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after the game. “I think he’s one of the ultimate competitors in this profession.”

The Heat also saw a big contribution from shooting guard Max Strauss, a former two-way contract player, who had 20 points, 11 boards, and five assists. Veteran P.J. Tucker added 12 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.

MVP candidate Joel Embiid scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the 76ers but saw little help from the rest of his team. This was particularly the case with superstar James Harden, who once again struggled to make an impact. Harden only attempted nine shots and finished the night with 11 points.

The Heat, who will play in their second Eastern Conference Finals in three years, now waits to see who wins the matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. The first Eastern Conference Finals game is scheduled for May 17.

The post Heat Close Out 76ers to Make the Eastern Conference Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Miami Heat confirmed that Jimmy Butler has been ruled out of Wednesday night’s game against the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center in Portland. This comes after the forward injured his right ankle late on during the third quarter of Miami’s 115-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

Butler lost his footing while attempting to plant his right foot, subsequently falling to the ground while holding the ball. As a result, Butler, who was unable to put any weight on his ankle, had to be helped off the ground by two of his teammates as Miami decided to take a time out.

This is not the first time that the 32-year-old has experienced issues with his right ankle this season. He sprained this same ankle in November, thereby causing him to miss three games, after which he was ruled out of the ultimately postponed game against the San Antonio Spurs on December 29 due to turning his ankle the day before.

Prior to his exit from the Golden State Warriors game, Butler scored 22 points and five rebounds, proving to be an impactful player during the game.

The post Jimmy Butler Ruled Out Of Trail Blazers Game With Ankle Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Jimmy Butler’s injury concerns have been extended after the Miami Heat star fell awkwardly during his side’s 105-90 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

After missing a driving layup early in the first quarter, Butler fell on his back, consequently aggravating his sustained tailbone injury. Immediately after the fall, Butler decided to play through the pain, however, he eventually had to leave the court during the third quarter.

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra shed light on Butler’s injury after the game, explaining: “He drew contact and got shoved and landed on his tailbone again. There could not have been a worse scenario for us to start the game. It is a contact sport. It’s an unpredictable thing. Insult to injury, we didn’t get the call on that either.”

Spoelstra further explained that the extent of Butler’s injury remains unclear until such time as further evaluations are performed.

The Heat is struggling as a result of injuries as of late, with several star players currently ruled out of action. Among them is All-Star center Bam Adebayo, who is expected to miss the next six weeks after undergoing thumb surgery. Markieff Morris remains unavailable due to a neck injury, despite participating in Monday’s pre-match warmups.

The post Jimmy Butler Aggravates Injury After Hard Fall vs Grizzlies appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Miami Heat got their first win of the season on Friday, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 111-98 in their highly-anticipated Christmas Day matchup. And they managed to do so even with their superstar Jimmy Butler not playing down the stretch because of ankle issues.

Butler rolled his ankle in Wednesday’s loss to the Orlando Magic but felt he was ready to play against the Pelicans, and ended up starting the game. The 31-year-old veteran, however, ended up spending just 16 minutes on the court in the first half before being shut down. He scored four points and added six rebounds and five assists up to that point.

Despite being without their biggest star, Miami managed to get the job done thanks to Duncan Robinson’s great shooting night. Robinson made seven three-pointers out of 13 attempts, leading the Heat with 23 points. He also added five rebounds.

Robinson had help in All-Star center Bam Adebayo, who had 17 points and four boards while being a dominant defensive presence. Veteran point guard Goran Dragic also did his part, scoring 18 points and dishing nine assists off the bench.

New Orleans was led by young stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, who combined for more than half of the team’s total points. Williamson scored 32 points and had 14 rebounds, while Ingram had 28 points and three assists.

The Heat, who are now 1-1, will play their next game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. The Pelicans play the Spurs on Sunday.

The post Heat Wins 111-98 Over The Pelicans Despite Jimmy Butler’s Absence appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Not a lot of people expected to see Miami Heat in the NBA finals this season, which is why they enter the duel against the Los Angeles Lakers as overwhelming underdogs. But don’t tell that to Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Asked about how Heat measures up to the Lakers ahead of the Finals series, Butler said that he and his teammates are “a really good team.” He then proceeded to brush off the notion that Miami is underdogs.

“Not going to say that we’re any better than anybody else, but I just don’t think that we’re underdogs. I don’t,” Butler explained. 

Butler is aware that not a lot of people see Heat going all the way, but that doesn’t bother him.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to do this our way, the Miami Heat way, and that way has worked for us all year long,” he added.

Jimmy Butler proved himself to be a big part of Miami’s success this season, being a leader for the team on and off the court. Throughout the postseason, Butler has been averaging 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals.

Miami Heat finished the regular season as a fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and was a popular projection for a second-round exit. However, Heat silenced the critics with a dominant performance in the opening series, sweeping the Indiana Pacers. Miami then proceeded to show that they are the real deal by eliminating Milwaukee Bucks, regular season’s best team, in just five games.

Heat secured the Lakers showdown by beating Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. They closed out the Celtics series with a 4-2 result.

The post Jimmy Butler Says the Heat aren’t Underdogs in NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It appears that the All-Star guard Jimmy Butler didn’t enjoy his time with Philadelphia 76ers all that much. Speaking on The JJ Redick Podcast with Tommy Alter, Butler described his lone season in Philly as difficult.

The 76ers acquired Butler from Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018, with hopes to sign him to a long-term extension. However, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, and the player ended up joining Miami Heat via sign-and-trade.

Now Butler says that his experience in Philadelphia was chaotic to say at least.

“It was difficult. It was so different” Butler shared. “On any given day, me as a person and as a player, I didn’t know who the [expletive] was in charge. I think that was my biggest thing. I didn’t know what the [expletive] to expect whenever I would go into the gym, whenever I go into the plane, whenever I got into the game.”

Despite his mixed feelings about 76ers organization, Jimmy Butler played some great basketball during his time there. Besides averaging 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, Butler also emerged as the team’s main closer. He was credited for lifting the young and inexperienced team in tough moments and almost managed to propel Philly in Eastern Conference finals.

Despite this, reports said that 76ers had certain doubts about Butler’s character, which made them hesitant about giving him a long-term contract. Heat, on the other hand, didn’t have similar restraints and didn’t hesitate to jump on the opportunity.

Butler played 54 games with Heat this season, averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

The post Jimmy Butler on His Time With 76ers: “It Was Difficult” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Miami Heat emerged as the front-runner to acquire Minnesota Timberwolves’ All-Star Jimmy Butler according to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski. After several proposals have been rejected in the past couple of days, Heat made revised trade offer on Wednesday and are hoping they are getting close to Timberwolves’ asking price for Butler.

Heat and Timberwolves have been engaged in talks for two weeks, but are unable to find common ground just yet. Minnesota has high demands for Butler, who asked for a trade before the beginning of training camp, and would like to get a combination of useful players, young prospects and draft picks. In talks with Miami, they are reportedly asking for center Bam Adebayo, guard Josh Richardson and a protected 2019 first-round pick among other requests.

Besides Miami Heat, several other teams have contacted Minnesota Timberwolves to discuss a trade including the Houston Rockets.

However, no team is yet ready to pay Timberwolves’ price for Jimmy Butler, mostly because the 29-year-old will become a free agent after this year. Another issue is that Minnesota is looking to offload center Gorgui Dieng and his $48 million contract in any potential deal.

When he asked for a trade, Butler named several teams as his preferred destinations including LA Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Knicks. Still, it remains unclear how interested these teams would be in giving assets for a player that they could sign next year for free.

The post Miami Heat Aggressively Pursuing a Trade for Jimmy Butler appeared first on SportzBonanza.