Harrison Wind: Will Barton (hip/core), Gary Harris (ham…
May 22, 2022 | 6:33 am EDT Update
Jimmy Butler’s knee injury not serious
Chris Haynes: Jimmy Butler’s knee injury isn’t being considered serious and there’s a strong possibility it doesn’t cause him to miss a game, league sources tell @YahooSports, @NBAonTNT.
Ira Winderman: Word from NBA source is Jimmy Butler injury is not considered serious. Monday’s Game 4 certainly in play for Butler.
Anthony Chiang: A league source confirms that Jimmy Butler’s knee issue is not considered serious. He could be back for Game 4.
Jay King: Ime Udoka said Robert Williams “is truly day to day.” He’s likely to be dealing with the issue through the rest of the playoffs, per Udoka, but could return as early as Game 4.
Heat take 2-1 series lead over Celtics
The Miami Heat took their Game 2 loss to the Boston Celtics personally. That was the message coming out of a proud Heat locker room after a gutsy 109-103 win on Saturday night that gave them a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals. After getting embarrassed throughout a lackluster Game 2 performance in which the group never found its rhythm on either end of the floor, the Heat started Saturday’s game with the type of edge on both sides of the floor that has defined their season. “They beat us like we stole something in Game 2,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “So that woke a fire up in all of us.”
Brady Hawk: Bam Adebayo on who pushed him most to be aggressive: “UD’s the biggest person I can say. He can impact the game so much without even being on the court.”
A former G League player who made a huge difference on Saturday was Max Strus. The 25-year-old guard hit the biggest shot of the night when he nailed a 3-pointer with 2:16 left in the game that gave the Heat, who had been clinging to a 93-92 lead, the dagger they needed to close out the Celtics. As Strus explained, it was actually Lowry who set up the final sequence. “In the timeout, Kyle said, let’s run a pindown for Max,” Strus said. “Let’s get him open. So when he said that, I had all the confidence in the world to step up and make a shot.”
Keith Smith: Jaylen Brown: “I did a shit job taking care of the basketball tonight.”
