Celtics ‘Poked The Bear’ to fuel victory for Butler’s Heat
NBA Analytics NetworkMiami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler scored 27 points and added eight rebounds and six assists…
Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler scored 27 points and added eight rebounds and six assists to complete a 111–105 win on Friday night to give his team a 2–0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Now the Heat are two wins from an NBA Finals birth with the next two home games.
A key catalyst in the Heat’s victory was an effort by Celtics forward Grant Williams to outscore Butler on a made three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter. While Butler was making essential plays throughout, he was clearly motivated by Williams — who was staring at him throughout.
“Yeah, it did,” Butler said when asked if Williams’ nonsense motivated him. “But that’s just competition at its best. He hit a big shot and started talking to me. But I like that. It’s just competition. It stimulates that will to win. It makes me laugh. … I just don’t know if I was the best person to talk to.”
“But it’s just competition. I do respect him though,” Butler explained. “He’s a big part of what they’re trying to do. He changes. He can shoot the ball. I just don’t know if I’m the best person to talk to (laughter).”
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After Williams “poked the bear” in true Dillon Brooks fashion, Butler scored nine points to lead a 23–9 run — erasing a nine-point deficit to extend the Heat’s 105–100 lead. to create.
“I knew this would be good for us,” said Heat forward Caleb Martin of Williams Butler’s nonsense. “We can get crazy Jimmy any minute. You could see it in his eyes that he was ready to go next.
Butler’s impact made headlines, but the Heat also received strong contributions from numerous other players. Gabe Vincent scored 25 points from the bench as he shot 11–16 from the floor. Bam Adebayo added 22 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists. It didn’t hurt that Miami got a combined 26 points from Duncan Robinson (15) and Max Strus (11).
“Caleb was huge, just like Bam. I just think we played a lot of energy,” said Butler. “And everyone is going to focus on that, but that’s certainly not why we won the game.”
“I think what Caleb did tonight was incredible to keep us in the game,” explained Butler. ‘You can’t leave him. It’s on everyone’s recon report. He will do whatever you ask him to do. And then Bam Bam was, rebounding, passing the ball, scoring the ball.”
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Williams expressed a great sense of respect for Butler when he discussed whether he regrets talking nonsense about the Heat superstar. Most of the Celtics were unwilling to entertain the idea that their teammate was “poking the bear” when asked to do so in post-game interviews.
“He’s going to have to make every difficult shot for the rest of the series,” said Williams. “And I’m not going to look any different because I respect him as an (expletive) player.”
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For Boston, Jayson Tatum had 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists — making a significant impact for much of the game, but not when it mattered most. He shot 0–3 and turned it around twice in the fourth quarter — proving unable to prevent his team from losing, despite leading 89–77.
“It’s tough. It’s challenging. But there’s no point in being sad here and stuff,” Tatum said. “They came in and won two games. They played well; you give them credit. But we’re not dead or anything. We have a great opportunity. I still have complete confidence. Everyone has complete confidence. We just have to get ready for Game 3.”
Miami beat Boston 36–22 in the last quarter and not only was Tatum disappointing, but his co-star — Jaylen Brown — finished the game with just 16 points while shooting 7–23 overall. He is eligible for a supermax contract extension upon being named to the All-NBA Second-Team.
“A little healthy competition. I’m not gonna lie to you. Healthy competition. And I love it. I’m always here to compete. I like to talk every now and then,” Butler said. “As long as we win, I’m fine with it.”
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The Celtics often settled for 3s in the fourth quarter, while the Heat took advantage. Butler attacked the rim to cut Boston’s lead to six after a missed 3 by Tatum.
After Tatum missed from long range — one of three missed 3s in the fourth quarter — Butler drove to the basket to make it a four-point Boston lead. Miami tied it at 100–100 after Butler converted a close range pull-up and then took the lead with his fadeaway. With Strus sharing a pair of free throws, then Adebayo clearing the miss with a putback dunk, the Heat led 105–100 with just under a minute left — leaving the Celtics at a very disadvantage.
“I love that gnarly version of Jimmy,” Spoelstra said. “But that’s what you get anyway. I think people are just paying more attention now. … Jimmy is just a real competitor.”
The Celtics and Heat will face each other in Game 3 at Kaseya Center on Sunday.
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