Jimmy Butler may not have been on the court for Game 2, but he made his presence felt before the game.
Tyler Herro, whose 24 points led the Heat to a win over the Celtics, revealed that Butler had reached out to him to rally the team before the Heat and Boston tipped off for their first-round series.
“Before the series [Jimmy Butler] texted me to take the team and lead these guys,” said Herro after the Heat’s 111-101 victory to even the series at one game apiece. “Just make every right play. It’s not all about scoring, in the playoffs you have to make the right play.
“Everybody came to play. We lost bad in Game 1 and everybody responded. That’s all you can ask for from a group of guys.”
Even with Butler on the mend from an MCL injury he suffered during the play-in tournament, he couldn’t help but poke fun at the Celtics on Instagram.
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Butler edited his head onto Jaylen Brown’s body in what appeared to be an old ESPN graphic from last season’s playoff series between the two East teams when Brown warned Miami not to let them get a win after the Heat had a 3-0 series lead in the conference finals.
The Celtics did make a valiant comeback but lost in seven games.
“Feeling cute, might delete later. Sikeeeeee I ain’t deleting s***,” Butler captioned his post.
He also posted a video on his Instagram Story of himself fist-pumping after the win.
Jimmy Butler trolled the Celtics with an Instagram post. Jimmy Butler/Instagram Jimmy Butler is out for the Celtics series with an MCL injury. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConButler has been sidelined due to the MCL injury he suffered against the Philadelphia 76ers last week.
The injury occurred during the first quarter of the April 18 game when Kelly Oubre Jr. landed on Butler while the Heat star went for a shot under the basket.
Butler remained in the game to finish the night with 19 points, five assists and five steals in 40 minutes.
Herro, on Wednesday against Boston, recorded a game-high 14 assists while knocking down six of the Heat’s playoff-record 23 3-pointers.
Miami had three players — including Herro — finish with at least 20 points in the win.
Bam Adebayo finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Caleb Martin had 21 points of his own with a pair of boards.
Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat looks at his bench after making a three-point basket against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter of game two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at TD Garden on April 24, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. Getty ImagesThe series is now headed back to Miami for Game 3 and Game 4 at Kaseya Center.
