MIAMI – No, he will not back down. He will hold on. But Jimmy Butler also understands that there is no easy way out.
So petty? Maybe.
But the Miami Heat forward also said he has no regrets for the previous words, even after his team’s game. 111-88 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at the Kaseya Center.
Heading into the Heat’s sixth loss in their last nine games, the focus had been on Butler declaring following the teams’ previous meeting, a controversial Heat victory on February 23 in New Orleans : “We will beat them next time. Also. We’re just a better team.
That wasn’t really the case Friday night, a humiliating defeat early in a critical four-game homestand that continues Sunday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Following the final buzzer on Friday, the reaction on social media was immediate and relevant.
This included Pelicans forward Najo Marshall posting a video of Butler’s bragging in February with the comment: “My volume doesn’t work what he says?????”
Marshall eventually deleted the post, but not before it was reposted from the Pelicans’ official account, which after the game changed its bio to “Keep Receipts” and then posted: “We’re just a better team . »
So, yes, the Pelicans remember, with coach Willie Green admitting that Butler’s emphasis provided a boost.
“For sure. It was a little extra,” Green said during his postgame media session. “They said certain things in the media. We heard it. And our guys wanted to respond. And that’s the deal.
“That’s what makes it fun.” That’s what makes sports fun, is you get to hear a little bit of chatter and then you can go out on the field and compete. And that’s what it was.
Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado agreed.
“Obviously it meant a little bit more to us too,” he said, “knowing what the circumstances of the last game were.”
All of this was delivered to Butler as he sat by his locker for his postgame media session.
“I hope this has added fuel to the fire. It’s good,” he said. “They had a great game plan, they made shots. They came out here and stole one. I’m going to stick with what I have said. We’re still the better team. You can’t win them all. We should have won that one. We definitely should have. But we’ll be fine.
Robinson full of hope
Having missed the last two games with a back problem diagnosed as left facet syndrome, guard Duncan Robinson said before Friday night’s game that he was hoping for a quick return.
“Luckily it’s not too bad,” Robinson said. “The important thing is to make sure that it calms things down a little bit. So I will try to play as soon as possible. I can not wait to return to. So as soon as I get the green light and I’m OK, I’ll be back out there.
The Heat shot 13 of 47 from 3-point range Friday in Robinson’s absence.
“I mean, I obviously want to play as soon as possible,” he said. “So I don’t know for sure when that will take place. You want to try to be smart about it, because I understand that there’s probably going to be some management down the line, just from a pain standpoint, that I’m willing to embrace.
“But you don’t want to rush to where it bursts, to where it starts again on day one.”
To go up
With his 12 points and 10 rebounds on Friday, Heat center Bam Adebayo recorded his 185th career double-double, tying Hassan Whiteside for third place on the Heat’s all-time list, behind only the 221 of Rony Seikaly and Alonzo Mourning’s 205. The double-double was Adebayo’s 36th of the season, four shy of the career high he set in 2019-20. …
The Heat’s 34 missed 3-pointers Friday were a season high and the fifth-most in a game in the franchise’s 36 seasons. The record is 37 misses against the Philadelphia 76ers on January 21, 2021.…
By starting a franchise-record 34th roster on Friday, the Heat moved into third place in this aspect of the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies have started 42 teams this season, the Portland Trail Blazers 37.
