Miami Heat took the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals vs the Celtics as Jimmy Butler put up another masterful performance in this season’s playoffs. Spoelstra praised his veteran after an impressive turnaround in the third quarter of Game 1.
Butler scored 17 of his 41 points in the third quarter opening the way for Miami’s 39-14 run in the third quarter. The Heat entered the second half with a different intensity after dropping themselves to a 13-point hole in the first half.
“Jimmy Butler is an elite competitor,” Spoelstra told reporters. “There’s a lot of guys in this league that are playing basketball. He’s competing to win. That’s a totally different thing and he does that as well as anybody in this league.”
During the third quarter explosion, Boston committed eight turnovers and shot 2-fo-15 from the field. During this time, Butler went to the free throw line 10 times and assembled nine of his 17 points.
“I want to run into people and see who falls down first, who is going to quit first,” Butler said. “I think that’s the style of basketball I like to play.”
The Heat accomplished the first blow in the series, but, the Celtics are expected to return the favor in the next game. They did not lose two consecutive games during the 2022 postseason.
“I’ve got to lead better. I’ve got to play better, especially in those moments. I’m just looking forward to responding next game,” Jayson Tatum told reporters in the aftermath of Tuesday’s loss.
The two teams meet again Thursday for Game 2 of the series in Miami.
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