The Miami Heat kept it classy upon Jimmy Butler’s return with a touching tribute video before he was introduced.
In the video, there are several iconic moments such as when he was leaning over a hoarding when putting it all on the line against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. There were clips of him taking over against the Milwaukee Bucks as he did many a time, as well as during a famous series win over the Boston Celtics.
Butler was traded to the Golden State Warriors after a tumultuous period when he tried to force his way out. The Heat chose to suspend him until a deal was found.
“It took me back to some good times whenever I was wearing a Miami Heat jersey,” Butler said of the video. “I’m very appreciative of the time to help me become the player that I am in this league, the individual I am in this league, the teammate, the leader, all of those things. I don’t think I could be who I am today without my opportunity here.”
The game itself was a laugher, Miami dismantling Golden State 112-86. Bam Adebayo led the way with 27 points while Tyler Herro chipped in with 20. Butler had a tough night with just 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Playing against his former team, Andrew Wiggins fared a bit better with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and three blocks in 28 minutes.
Butler Plays It Cool In Embarrassing Loss
Speaking after the game, Butler tried to give the impression that emotions didn’t get the better of him.
“I won’t say there were a lot of emotions, though,” Butler said. “I think I went into this thing level-headed. We wanted to win the game and it didn’t go the way that we planned but we’ll be alright.”
Butler has shown his propensity for controlling the narrative in the past. In this case, he may be trying to avoid someone creating the narrative that the blowout loss was in part due to the emotions of the night.
He spoke about the team’s game plan and failure to execute multiple times, keeping it about the basketball as much as possible.
The Warriors were without Steph Curry for the second straight game.
Next up for Golden State is the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Miami is 10th in the East at 31-41 and have now won two straight.
