The Heat fear guard Jimmy Butler sustained a possible MCL injury to his right knee during Miami’s play-in tournament loss to the 76ers on Wednesday night, sources told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
Butler was hurt late in the first quarter in Philadelphia when he tried to fake out Kelly Oubre Jr. on a bucket, only to have his knee buckle and he fell to the court. Oubre appeared to land on the Heat star, who led the franchise last season to the NBA Finals.
“I fell, he landed and my knee just didn’t do well, I guess,” Butler said. “I don’t know. It’s not a good feeling, I can tell you that.”
Butler says he will need an MRI, which sources say is scheduled for Thursday.
The Athletic was first to report Butler’s possible MCL injury.
Butler sank the free throw, exhaled and missed the second one. He remained in the game and scored 19 points, but it wasn’t enough in Philadelphia’s 105-104 win on Wednesday night.
The Heat host the winner of the night’s late play-in game between Chicago and Atlanta on Friday night, with the winner getting the No. 8 seed.
“We just need to get one and then we’ll worry about the next one,” Butler said.
It was not immediately clear if Butler would be available to play.
“It felt like I couldn’t do too much, which sucks with the timing of the game and everything,” Butler said. “I hope that I’m fine. I hope that I wake up tomorrow and can still stick-and-move. Right now, I can’t stay that’s the case.”
Butler, a former Sixer, scored 20.8 points in 60 games for the Heat. The 34-year-old Butler said he stayed in the game because he thought the “adrenaline would kick back in” and he would feel healthy enough to play at his usual level.
Butler was 5-of-18 from the floor overall but scored just 2 points in the fourth, when the Heat collapsed in the quarter.
“It just wasn’t the case,” he said. “I wasn’t able to do anything on either side of the ball. I think I hurt us more than I helped us actually.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.