NEW YORK – Jimmy Butler scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Miami Heat over the New York Knicks 108-101 on Sunday, but suffered a right ankle injury that stole some joy from the road victory.
The Heat seized a 1-0 lead over the Knicks in the best-of-seven National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference semi-final play-offs, which continues on Tuesday in New York, but the focus will be Butler’s status.
“No idea,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about the severity of his star player’s injury.
“You just don’t know with ankle sprains. I dont even know if we will know more by tomorrow. We’ll just have to wait and see. It will be a waiting game.”
Asked after the game how his sore ankle felt, Butler simply said: “Like a rolled ankle.”
There was an intense atmosphere for the Knicks and the Heat at Madison Square Garden, which had not seen a second-round play-off contest since 2013.
Butler led Miami to a do-or-die win over the Chicago Bulls in a play-in game and an upset over NBA regular-season leaders Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, and he was happy that he could build on that momentum.
“We’re just playing great basketball,” he said.
“We believe that we can do something special. We’re going to continue to play as such and see where we end up.”
The forward’s ankle turned when he fell to the court with the Heat leading 95-92 and 5min 5sec to play. He limped to the bench but returned to make two free throws and remained in the game.
“He did not want to come out of the game so we left him in,” Spoelstra said.
Often standing in a corner far from the run of play, Butler was largely stationary and the Knicks did not force him to try and actively defend.
“Find a way to win. Be out there. Be a presence. I didn’t do too much but I’ll take the win,” he said of his reason for staying on the court.
With Butler hindered, his teammates stepped up. Gabe Vincent (20 points) made a three-pointer, and Bam Adebayo (16) and Kyle Lowry (18) added hoops in a 7-0 run to give Miami a 104-94 edge.
After a Knicks free throw ended a scoring drought of nearly four minutes, Lowry added two free throws to give the Heat their largest lead at 106-95 just 43 seconds from the end.
“He’s a winner. He’s our leader whether he’s starting or coming off the bench. He’s a champion. He has been doing a great job for us all year long. He’s one of the engines and we’re going to ride that wave,” Butler said of Lowry.
The Knicks, who are 0-7 in the play-offs when losing the series opener at home, were led by 26 points from R.J. Barrett and 25 from Jalen Brunson. AFP
