Butler suffered an ankle injury against Josh Hart in Miami’s first game at Madison Square Garden. Hart slid into Butler’s foot, and his foot flipped over, causing him to stay on the ground for some time before the end of the play, even though it was bait.
He still had 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, & two steals in the win, continuing his stellar postseason run.
The Heat played well in Game 2 without Butler, leading for most of the night until they eventually trailed by six. They missed some of their star’s late-game magic.
But they’ll be hoping to get back into form with a two-game stretch in South Beach, where Butler was outstanding in the Heat’s first-round game against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
The last time the home crowd at the Kaseya Center saw Butler, he had one of his best playoff performances in Game 4 against the Bucks. He finished with a career-high 56 points on a ridiculous 19-of-28 shooting, nine rebounds, and two assists.
Pushing a solid Knicks team without Butler should give the Heat confidence over the next few games as they try to take control of the series & advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second year.
So far in the playoffs, Butler is averaging 35.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting 58.5 percent from the field & 42.9 percent from three.