No love lost as Jimmy Butler returns to Miami for Warriors-Heat NBA showdown

MIAMI – Jimmy Butler is not thinking about Miami. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he is not thinking about Butler either.

But when the Golden State Warriors visit on March 25 (March 26, Singapore time), Butler’s thoughts will inevitably turn to his multiple suspensions by Miami this season before he was finally traded on Feb 6.

“Yeah, I was traded from there, yada, yada, yada,” Butler said. “Yeah, it didn’t end the way people wanted... But that’s so far behind me now. I don’t even think about it. I don’t think about nothing except the trajectory of our squad.”

That trajectory is pretty good as the Warriors (41-30) are 16-4 since acquiring Butler, who missed one of the losses, a 126-119 defeat by the Philadelphia 76ers, due to back spasms.

The Heat (30-41), meanwhile, just went through a 10-game losing streak that was the franchise’s longest skid since the 2007-08 season.

After finally ending the streak with a 122-105 win over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on March 23, Spoelstra was asked about Butler, who helped the Heat reach the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals in 2023.

“We’ve been so engulfed in our situation that if I said I haven’t noticed the schedule, everyone would roll their eyes,” Spoelstra said. “But I really haven’t been able to check out the schedule. We have been trying to get a damn win.

“I was aware of it (the upcoming Warriors game). But the highest form of sanity is to be in the present moment. So, give me some time on that. There will be a lot of different feelings. I probably won’t express all of them (to the media).”

“We had a great five-year run,” he added. “We didn’t win the title, but we had great moments. That’s what I will remember. It doesn’t matter what we feel right now.”

Butler essentially agrees with Spoelstra on their time together, saying: “We didn’t win like we were supposed to... We had some cool runs. We had fun, but that’s all we did.”

His 5½-year stint with the Heat ended on a sour note earlier in 2025 after the veteran, disgruntled by Miami’s reluctance to give him the lucrative contract extension he coveted, drew three separate suspensions in January, the last of which was an indefinite ban before he was traded.

The Butler drama overshadows the fact that this will be Andrew Wiggins’ first game against the Warriors since he was traded to the Heat as part of the same deal.

The Canadian has been in fine form, averaging 36 points in the two games since returning from injury.

Miami guard Tyler Herro said Wiggins “made just about every shot he took” in a 42-point effort against Charlotte.

Spoelstra, though, had a different perspective.

“We need him to be more,” said Spoelstra, referring to Wiggins’ role as a scorer. “And he wants to take on that challenge.”

Golden State’s high-volume shooter is, of course, 11-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry, who is averaging 24.2 points.

However, the 37-year-old sat out his team’s road loss to the Atlanta Hawks on March 22 due to a pelvic bruise and remains a doubt for the Miami game.

It is also unclear how the Heat fans at the Kaseya Centre will treat Butler. But not that he cares.

“Don’t make no difference,” the 35-year-old said. “I’m a member of the Golden State Warriors now. I’m on the opposing team.”

Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers feel their worst funk of the campaign is behind them as they enter a road game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Cleveland (57-14) dropped four straight games before turning things around with a 120-91 rout of the Utah Jazz on March 23.

That performance did not eliminate all the concern over the recent play that saw them allow an average of 121.5 points in the four setbacks.

But Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson was keen to put things in perspective.

“We’re in a tough stretch of the schedule,” he said after the drubbing of the Jazz (16-56). “But I will take the other 97 per cent of the season and I know who this team is and what we need to do. I’m not going to overreact to it.”

On March 24, Devin Booker knocked down a mid-range jumper with 1.7 seconds remaining to give the Phoenix Suns a 108-106 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.

Kevin Durant recorded 38 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the hosts (35-37) won their fourth consecutive game. This was also the first time that Phoenix coach Mike Budenholzer faced Milwaukee, who fired him after the 2022-23 season. Budenholzer had guided the Bucks to the 2020-21 NBA title.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Bucks (40-31), who dropped to 2-2 on a five-game road trip. Brook Lopez added 23 points and 10 rebounds, but his baseline jumper bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered another setback in their NBA play-off push, falling 118-106 to the Orlando Magic, who notched their first home victory since February, thanks to Franz Wagner’s 32 points and Paolo Banchero’s 30.

Despite a 32-point haul from Luka Doncic and 24 from LeBron James, the Lakers dropped their third straight game and, at 43-28, are now tied with the Memphis Grizzlies in the battle for fourth place in the Western Conference. REUTERS, AFP