NBA: 'Psychotic' Butler driving Heat in playoffs

LOS ANGELES—Three years after leading the Miami Heat to the brink of an NBA championship, Jimmy Butler is once more inspiring his team on an epic playoff journey.

The 33-year-old NBA star produced the latest in a series of jaw-dropping performances on Wednesday to send the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks crashing out of the postseason in the first round.

Butler's 42-point masterpiece in Milwaukee was the sort of inspirational display that has earned him multiple nicknames over the years that reflect his unerring knack of delivering under pressure, from "Playoff Jimmy" to "Jimmy Buckets."

On Wednesday night, Butler forced overtime with a sensational alley-oop, draining an acrobatic two-pointer while falling backward in mid-air under pressure from two Bucks players.

"The game plan was simple: Get the ball to Buckets and let him do what he do," was how teammate Gabe Vincent described Butler's tying shot.

Incredibly, Butler's game-winning performance came just two days after another of his logic-defying displays, a 56-point gem in game four.

In the five playoff games against Milwaukee, Butler averaged 37.2 points, with 4.8 assists and six rebounds.

Butler, who endured homelessness as a teenager before eventually being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2011, is the figurehead of a Miami team that has proven fearless in adversity.

Their last two wins over Milwaukee were earned after overturning double-digit leads late in the game.

"We're a resilient group. We stick together through everything," Butler said on Wednesday.

"We're a good group of basketball players and we're out there having fun playing basketball the right way. Good things happen when you do that.

"We just play hard. We know what we're capable of. We don't listen to the outside noise. We're going to do what we do, learn from our mistakes and get better."

'DESPERATE, MANIACAL, PSYCHOTIC'

Asked to explain his own incredible run of form, Butler reflected: "I'm just in a groove, in a rhythm. I've been shooting the ball an incredible amount in this series, but I feel like they're shots I can make – and my teammates keep telling me: 'Shoot the ball, shoot the ball.'

"When push comes to shove, I always remember why I do what I do. For my kids, for my family, for my guys. I know if I'm doing things the right way they have to follow suit."

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra meanwhile says Butler is the personification of the Heat's team culture.

"I've said it many times -- he is us and we are him," Spoelstra said after Wednesday's win.

"I just respect him so much being such a unique, world-class, elite competitor. A lot of guys play the game of basketball in this league. He competes to win. And that's a different language.

"He's desperate, and urgent, and maniacal, and sometimes psychotic, about the will to try to win. He'll make everybody in the building feel it.

"And that's why he is us and we are him. We needed every bit of every play that he made tonight."

Butler's indomitable spirit has been a recurring feature of his NBA career.

In the NBA Finals in 2020, Butler went head-to-head with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a do-or-die game five that ended with a 111-108 victory.

The enduring image of that encounter was an exhausted Butler, doubled up on the side of the court near the end of a game in which he played almost the entire 48 minutes, finishing with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

"I left it all out there on the court," said Butler, who would ultimately see his hopes of a championship end in a 4-2 series defeat to the Lakers.

Spoelstra meanwhile said Butler should be an example to every young player entering the NBA.

"Every young player coming into this league should study footage of Jimmy Butler, a definition of a two-way player competing on both ends," Spoelstra said at the time. "His will to win is remarkable."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Miami pulls away for double-OT win over Hornets

Jimmy Butler hit a pair of jumpers in the final 66 seconds of the second overtime as the Miami Heat pulled out a 111-107 road victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night in the last game for each team prior to the All-Star break.

Kyle Lowry scored 25 points, Duncan Robinson tallied 21 points and P.J. Tucker, Bam Adebayo and Butler all had 15 points for the Heat. Omer Yurtseven added 10 points off the bench.

Miles Bridges racked up 29 points and Montrezl Harrell posted 24 points for the Hornets. Kelly Oubre Jr. and P.J. Washington both had 15 points and LaMelo Ball notched 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for a triple-double.

Miami was up 107-102 after Butler's late baskets. Bridges countered with a 3 for the Hornets before Lowry's lay-in at the 21.1-second mark.

The Heat didn't score for almost four minutes to begin the fourth quarter, allowing Charlotte to stretch its lead to 78-64 behind seven straight points from Harrell.

Miami came back from an 11-point hole with five minutes in regulation to play to go up 86-85 on a pair of Jimmy Butler with 1:57 remaining. Until Harrell's tying dunk at the 24.6-second mark, Charlotte didn't have a field goal since going up 84-77 with 3:50 to play.

In the first overtime, Harrell made the first free throw but missed the second with 1.7 seconds left, forcing another overtime at 97-97.

Adebayo had 13 rebounds, and Tucker and Butler both pulled in 10 boards.

The biggest key for the Hornets might have been getting sustained defense, and that put Miami in a bind at times.

The Heat was up, 37-30, at the end of the first quarter, shooting 75 percent from the floor. Bridges had 13 points for the Hornets through the first quarter.

Charlotte surged ahead in the quarter, when Miami was stuck with just four points for nearly the first 7 1/2 minutes of the quarter. The Hornets led 54-47 at the break, boosted by eight 3-pointers -- and Oubre had four of those on the way 15 first-half points.

-reuters

Lakers offense limited after Davis runs into foul trouble

Anthony Davis is used to shouldering much of the scoring load for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he says getting in foul trouble early in game three of the NBA Finals took away his effectiveness.

“It had an impact. I picked up two (fouls) early, come back in and get the third. So it takes away the aggressiveness on both ends of the floor that I’m used to playing with,” said Davis. “It definitely took me out and put too much pressure on the other guys.”

Davis, who is playing in his first NBA Finals, scored a combined 66 points in games one and two against the Miami Heat, but finished with just 15 points in 32 minutes in Sunday’s game three defeat.

Davis finished with four fouls and five turnovers as the Lakers blew a golden opportunity to take a stranglehold 3-0 lead by losing 115-104 to the Heat in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.

“The turnovers, I had four (actually five). I missed communication on some passes, but I just have to be better overall.

“We’ll be fine. We made shots. We didn’t defend at all tonight. They made big shots. Made some good plays. Trust me, we’ll be fine.”

Davis picked up his first foul on an offensive charge with just under five minutes left in the first quarter. He had four turnovers in the first quarter, including three in a 66-second span.

“I just have to be better at both ends of the floor,” he said. “The team relies on me to bring the energy to start the game and when you pick up two fouls, guys come in earlier, things like that.”

Lakers’ coach Frank Vogel said the fouls disrupted the Lakers’ offensive flow, but they should have been able to rise above it.

“I think that impacted us some, but we’ve been in foul trouble before, and you have to play through it,” Vogel said.

“That’s part of the game. We see that all throughout the course of the season and in the playoffs, and you have to be able to adapt and adjust.

“Probably had a small factor on our offensive rhythm, but we’ve just got to be better overall on both ends.”

Davis said he can see plenty of room for improvement in the Lakers’ defense in game four on Tuesday.

“We were getting confused on a lot of things,” he said. “They had wide open looks.

“We let Jimmy (Butler) get into a strong hand too many times, getting to the basket, or getting to the free-throw line. We were letting guys get to the rim easily with no contact.

“We didn’t play well defensively late in the game. They made us pay.”

Agence France-Presse 

Heat win a wild one, escape 76ers in OT

MIAMI — They were down by five points twice in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. They wasted two chances to win in the last second of regulation, then found themselves trailing on two occasions in overtime.

No problem.


Nothing seems to faze the Miami Heat.

Jimmy Butler had 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, plus the go-ahead free throw with 2.3 seconds left in the extra session, and the Heat found a way to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 117-116 on Saturday night to improve to an NBA-best 15-1 at home.

“We never give up,” Butler said.

“Yeah, it’s crazy,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“We always fight back,” Miami’s Goran Dragic said.

Correct on all counts. The Heat moved back into the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference and assured themselves of no worse than a split of the four-game regular-season series with Philadelphia — after both teams went through a first in their franchise histories.

Miami, which topped Indiana on Friday, won one-point games on back-to-back days for the first time. Philadelphia, which fell in Orlando on Friday, lost one-point games on back-to-back days for the first time. The last time the 76ers lost consecutive games — ones that weren’t on a back-to-back — by exactly one point was in January 1995.

“To do lots of good things and then just at the end to make some plays you wished you had back makes it difficult to swallow,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said.

Dragic scored 19, while Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson each had 16 for Miami. The Heat improved to 6-0 in overtime games and 8-1 in games decided by five points or less.


Joel Embiid had 35 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, which has lost 10 of its last 14 on the road. Former Heat guard Josh Richardson had 17 points in his first time in Miami as an opponent, and Ben Simmons had 15 points and 11 assists.

Butler got fouled by Al Horford on Miami’s final possession, then made the second of his two free throws for what became the game-winner. Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris had a good look at a corner 3-pointer as time expired, but it bounced off the rim.

That alone was plenty of drama. But there was oodles more.

The end of regulation was wild, with Philadelphia twice holding five-point leads in the final 1:47 and not being able to finish things off off — then Miami missing a box-out that would have won the game in the last second.

With Miami down by two, Butler punched the ball away from Embiid with 12 seconds left in regulation. It went to Herro, who made a 3-pointer with 6.9 ticks remaining to put Miami up one. Another free throw pushed the lead to two, when Richardson went to the line to tie the game.

He missed the first and intentionally missed the second. Simmons swooped in to grab the rebound and score in one motion to tie the game. Miami had a chance to win it right there but misfired on an inbounds pass and to overtime they went.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” Simmons said, after Philadelphia fell to 1-2 against Miami this season and 4-10 in its last 14 road games. “There are lots of things we have to work on as a team.”

TIP-INS
76ers: Brown used his challenge with 1:53 left in the first half, arguing that Simmons did not commit what would have been his third foul against Bam Adebayo. He was correct. … Embiid took off his sweaty jersey for a fresh one at the scorer’s table before checking back in with 3:41 remaining in regulation.

Heat: Butler was 1 for 6 in the first half, his only make coming with 1:10 left before intermission. … Robinson started 6 for 6, including four makes from 3-point range, but committed his fifth foul with 5:16 left in the third. … Miami has reached 100 points in all 16 games at home this season, tying the second-longest such single-season streak in team history. The Heat had 23 consecutive home games of 100 or more points from Dec. 7, 1991 to March 13, 1992.

FAUX FIGHTS
Richardson and Adebayo remain extremely close friends and got playfully rough with one another. Richardson made a 3-pointer in the second quarter while getting fouled by Adebayo, then gave his former teammate a swat on the backside before finishing off the four-point play. So in the third quarter, when Richardson fouled Adebayo to save what likely would have been a dunk, the Heat center had a few good-natured words and animated points toward him. “That’s my guy,” Adebayo said.


QUICK TURNAROUND
Philadelphia scored 16 points in the game’s first 8:55. It scored 17 points in the next 3:02, quickly turning an early eight-point deficit into a five-point lead after the opening quarter.

UP NEXT
76ers: Visit Indiana on Tuesday.

Heat: Visit Washington on Monday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Butler made his move—now it’s Wolves’ turn

MIAMI— Jimmy Butler knows that NBA players can force their way into trades.

Forcing their way into a trade that suits the player, that’s an entirely different story.


Butler has told the Minnesota Timberwolves that he has no intentions of re-signing with the club next summer, his way of saying “trade me now” or “lose me for nothing later.” The Athletic first reported Butler’s decision.

It’s a power move that players can make.

Thing is, it comes with risk — because what happens next is not up to Butler.

This was the lesson learned from the Kawhi Leonard situation, from the Kyrie Irving situation, from the Paul George situation. Leonard supposedly was hoping for a trade from San Antonio to the Los Angeles Clippers. Irving wanted to be sent by Cleveland to either San Antonio and Miami. George was widely assumed to leave Indiana for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Leonard is in Toronto , at least for one season.

Irving got sent to Boston , and is a free agent next summer.

George landed in Oklahoma City, and probably will be there for years.

Not a whole lot of people saw those exact moves coming. But the teams did what was best for them. In all three cases, the Spurs, the Cavs and the Pacers got the best deal they could make.

Now it’s Butler’s turn.


It should be easy to deduce that Butler can see himself with the Clippers, New York or Brooklyn, since all of those teams will have the cap space to give him the $140 million (or $190 million) max contract he’s seeking.

Miami would interest him as well, since Butler has raved about the city in the past and he’s still very tight with fellow Marquette alum and former Chicago teammate Dwyane Wade. Toronto is believed to be on his radar. Playing alongside LeBron James with the Lakers is something that hardly anyone in the NBA would sneeze at.

A person with knowledge of the Timberwolves’ situation said that Minnesota has been talking to multiple teams, gauging the Butler market. The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing. The Timberwolves aren’t exactly in a position of strength, since now everyone knows that Butler wants out and training camps start in a few days. But that doesn’t mean Minnesota doesn’t control how this will play out.

When Leonard asked for his trade, the Spurs had the luxury of time and wound up getting a very good deal from Toronto. The Cavs and the Pacers also had plenty of time to work out something to their likings when moving Irving and George.

Minnesota doesn’t have that same cushion. That’ll eventually lead to Butler being asked why he waited until the final days of the offseason to inform the team of his unhappiness, because not only did he potentially limit Minnesota’s options but he could have limited his own.

“You should always try to get a perennial All-Star,” former NBA forward Caron Butler told TMZ Sports, adding that he thinks Jimmy Butler is “a real winner.”

The Timberwolves can basically make any of the following decisions:



— Move Butler right away and start camp without distraction;

— Hang onto him for a while and see if he changes his mind;

— Work out a sign-and-trade;

— Make him play out the year.

Butler was their leading scorer last season. He’s an All-Star. He helped them end a 14-year playoff drought. Losing him, no matter what they get back, wouldn’t seem to help the Wolves’ chances of returning to the playoffs in a still-loaded Western Conference.

Sometimes, even irreconcilable differences work out.

Houston won NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, led by Hakeem Olajuwon. People forget that in 1992, he demanded a trade in a very ugly situation sparked by the Rockets thinking that he was faking a hamstring injury. They mended fences and won titles.

Most of the time, though, when a player wants out, they get out.

Dwight Howard demanded to be traded by Orlando in 2012, and got his way. Shaquille O’Neal wanted to leave the Lakers in 2004, got sent to the Heat, and then eventually forced them to send him to Phoenix. Chris Paul and Chris Webber have forced trades, too. And it’s not a new thing — Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wanted trades and got them.

Butler got his trade ball rolling.

Where it goes, at least this season, that’s up to Wolves coach and president Tom Thibodeau — whose own future in Minnesota might be hanging by a thread as well right now — more than anyone else.

source: sports.inquirer.net