The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 111-101 to tie the first round Eastern Conference series 1-1, and Jimmy Butler is loving it.
The Heat star trolled the Celtics on Instagram after the game, photoshopping his face on top of Jaylen Brown‘s in a quote graphic from last season. Brown’s quote “don’t let us get one” came after Boston went down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference finals, which Miami went on to win in seven games.
Even though he’s not on the court due to injury, Butler has still found a way to talk trash.
Without Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson, the No. 8 seed Heat rebounded from their 114-94 loss in Game 1 to the No. 1 Celtics. It’s the fifth time they’ve lost a game by at least 20 points then won the following game by 10 points in a playoff series under Erik Spoelstra, tied for the most such wins by a head coach in NBA history, per Elias Sports Bureau.
Miami hit 23 total 3-pointers, its most in a playoff game in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Tyler Herro led the Heat with 24 points and 14 assists, including making or assisting on 16 3-pointers, the second-most in a playoff game in the last 25 years. His 14 assists are also the second-most in franchise history.
“Before the series [Jimmy Butler] texted me to take the team and lead these guys… Everybody came to play. We lost bad in Game 1 and everyone responded,” Herro said after the game.
Butler suffered a right MCL injury against the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-in tournament game last Wednesday. He is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Game 3 is in Miami on Saturday.