Jimmy Butler booed in return to Miami as Heat lock up Warriors
MIAMI — Every time Jimmy Butler touched the ball, he heard it from the Kaseya Center crowd. His dribbles served as percussion to a chorus of boos.
He’d heard that song before, in Philadelphia and in Minnesota after leaving those teams under suboptimal circumstances. But he didn’t make the same level of impact there as he did in Miami.
The same fans who fell in love with him as he carried the Heat to their best years since the Heatles era jeered him. The mercurial superstar publicly beefed with team president Pat Riley — and vice versa — and got slapped with three separate team suspensions this year after he requested a trade. Apparently, despite the perennial postseason heroics, the fans had had enough.
“I’m always painted as the bad guy,” Butler said the day before the game. “Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve always been a problem. So, we’ll take it. I don’t got nothing to say. I’m not mad at being a bad guy.”
No matter how the polarizing wing was received, the Warriors’ loss hurts more. Golden State (41-31) never led in their 112-86 loss. Steph Currys’ pelvic contusion prevented him from supporting his new teammate and the Warriors’ offense suffered for it. The Warriors starters missed their first 14 3-pointers and the team put out its second-lowest scoring total of the season. Butler tallied just 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with a monster two-way game, finishing with 27 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Wiggins, the 2022 NBA champion with the Warriors, likewise made an impact on both ends with 10 points, five assists and five rebounds. The Warriors have dropped both of their first two games of their ongoing six-game road, with Curry expected to return on Friday in New Orleans.
Butler’s former head coach, Erik Spoelstra, said he looks back fondly at the past five-plus years before the trade. In this increasingly transient league, Butler’s chapter with the Heat — two NBA Finals berths and a swath of legendary playoff moments — should, with time, supersede his messy exit.
But that divorce was still fresh on many Heat fans’ minds.
There was some curiosity within the Warriors as to whether the Heat would even prepare a video for Butler given how his relationship with Riley soured. The Heat, after all, don’t do anything of significance without Riley’s approval.
Yet there it flashed on the jumbotron, a one-minute ode to Butler and his fierce competitiveness and tendency to rise in the playoffs. Butler watched from the visitor’s bench, jumping up to a mix of boos and cheers.
The crowd erupted when Wiggins — the former Warrior — stripped Butler on a fast break early in the first quarter. At that point, the Warriors had no rhythm, struggling against Miami’s two-big look.
Adebayo was primarily defending Butler, leading a charged-up defense. Miami forced two shot clock violations and a five-second call in the first six minutes of the game.
Adebayo was also Miami’s most consistent source of offense. Butler’s only All-Star teammate during his five seasons in Miami, Adebayo beat Draymond Green’s ball pressure with a crossover and dunk before euro-stepping on a fast break.
Like the Chase Center fans were jubilant when Butler notched a game-sealing block last week against the Raptors, the Heat fans went crazy when Kel’el Ware stuffed Butler at the rim.
Butler started 1-for-6 from the floor as the Warriors fell behind by 17. In the second quarter, Golden State went five straight minutes without a field goal.
Tyler Herro’s corner 3 at the buzzer gave Miami a 57-40 halftime lead. The Heat held Golden State to 14-for-40 (35%) shooting in the half and forced eight turnovers. By stymying Butler, the Heat short-circuited the Warriors’ offensive engine.
Butler scored six quick points to re-energize the second half and the Warriors defense turned the Heat over five times in the third quarter. Golden State’s bench, with Kevon Looney in the mix to contend with Miami’s frontcourt, cut a 20-point deficit to eight.
Miami’s defense remained stout, though. The Warriors committed five turnovers in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Warriors subbed out Butler, for good, facing a 20-point hole with 7:06 left. The fans didn’t even realize in the moment they’d already seen the last of him for the year.
Butler might’ve been the bad guy to the Heat fans in the arena, but he didn’t antagonize them. The Warriors didn’t give him a chance to.