The Miami Heat rallied from a disappointing Game 1 loss to defeat the Boston Celtics 106-92 and even the Eastern Conference semifinals series at 1-1 on Tuesday night. Despite being sidelined due to a right MCL injury, Heat star Jimmy Butler couldn’t resist taking a playful dig at the Celtics on Instagram after the game. Butler photoshopped his face onto a quote graphic from last season, where Celtics forward Jaylen Brown had said “don’t let us get one” after Boston fell behind 3-0 in the Eastern Conference finals, which Miami went on to win in seven games.
Even though he’s not on the court, Butler has still found a way to stir the pot. Without Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowery, the No. 8 seed Heat showed their resilience by bouncing back from their Game 1 loss to the No. 1 Celtics. This marks the fifth time under coach Erik Spoelstra that the Heat have lost a playoff game by at least 20 points and then won the following game by 10 points, tying for the most such wins by a head coach in NBA history, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The Heat’s victory was fueled by a record-setting performance from beyond the arc. Miami knocked down 23 3-pointers, the most in a playoff game in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Herro led the Heat with 24 points and 14 assists, including making or assisting on 16 3-pointers, the second-most in a playoff game in the last 25 years. His 14 assists are also the second-most in franchise history.
“Before the series [Jimmy Butler] texted me to take the team and lead these guys… Everybody came to play. We lost bad in Game 1 and everyone responded,” Herro said after the game.
Butler suffered his injury against the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament game last Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Saturday in Miami.
