Jimmy Butler has only played 20 minutes in the Miami Heat victory over the Boston Celtics Saturday night. The Heat ruled him out in the second half that he suffered a right knee inflammation.
The Heat made the announcement just after the start of the third quarter. They held on for a 109-103 win over Boston to now lead the series 2-1. It’s still unclear what caused Butler’s inflammation in the knee.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he didn’t have an update on Butler postgame but noted that the All-Star wing would not need an MRI on his knee. Butler missed one game after facing the same injury in the first-round series vs Atlanta.
Since returning at the start of the next series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Butler has been nothing less than dominant. He scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds in 20 minutes of the Game 3 vs Boston.
Additionally, USA Today is reporting that Butler is not expected to miss any further time in this series as a result of the knee inflammation. For the playoffs, the Heat star is averaging 29.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
Without the Heat superstar wing, Bam Adebayo took over in the offensive side of the ball putting up 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Heat to re-take home advantage. The two teams will face each other again on Monday at Boston TD Garden.
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