Jimmy Butler may miss Wednesday’s game between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, but his mind is still focused on the playoffs. After the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 111-101 in Game 2 on Wednesday to tie the first-round Eastern Conference series at 1-1, Butler took to Instagram to prank his opponent.
He spoofed the Celtics on Instagram by photoshopping his face over Jaylen Brown’s face from last season’s quote image. “Don’t let us get one” came from Jaylen Brown in last year’s playoffs. The Celtics All-Star said this as Boston fell 3-0 to Butler and the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“Feeling cute, might delete later,” he wrote under a photo of a quote by Celtics guard Jaylen Brown. “Sikeeeee I ain’t deleting s—.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this marks the fifth occasion under Erik Spoelstra’s coaching tenure that the Miami Heat have lost a game by at least 20 points and then rebounded to win the subsequent game by a margin of at least 10 points in a playoff series. This achievement ties Spoelstra with the most such wins by a head coach in NBA history.
Miami knocked down a staggering 23 three-pointers in total, marking their highest tally ever in a playoff game, as reported by ESPN Stats & Information. Tyler Herro emerged as the driving force for the Heat, contributing 24 points and an impressive 14 assists. Notably, Herro played a pivotal role in 16 of those three-pointers, either by making them himself or assisting his teammates, marking the second-highest involvement in three-pointers in a playoff game in the past 25 years. Furthermore, Herro’s 14 assists also etched his name in franchise history, ranking as the second most in Miami Heat’s records.
Butler suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee during the Heat’s Play-In Tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers last week. Despite his absence from the court, Butler remains actively engaged with his teammates, ensuring that everyone stays focused and motivated.
Tyler Herro, who showcased an outstanding performance with 24 points and 14 assists in Game 2, revealed in his postgame interview that Butler reached out via text to uplift the team’s confidence.
“Before the series, [Butler] texted me to take the team and lead these guys,” Herro said after the game. “… Everybody came to play. We lost bad in Game 1 and everyone responded.”
Game 3 is in Miami on Saturday.
