Photo Credit: Getty Images
The Miami Heat thrashed the Golden State Warriors 112-86 on Tuesday, handing Jimmy Butler a stinging loss in his first game against his old club since his acrimonious exit. Butler, who was traded away to Golden State in February after a series of bust-ups with the Heat management, finished with just 11 points as the Warriors offense struggled to click. Instead it was Miami who dominated from the outset, grabbing the lead early on before coasting to a wire-to-wire victory.
Butler, who played six seasons in Miami and was a talismanic figure in the team's run to the NBA Finals in 2020, was given a video tribute before the game started. Although there were scattered boos in the Kaseya Center crowd, Butler was greeted largely positively on his return. "This was a huge part of my career so I continue to say that I'm very grateful," Butler said. "I ain't spiteful towards nobody." Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team had not used Butler's presence in the opposition line-up as a motivating factor. "The energy in the building was great," Spoelstra said. "We didn't do any extra motivational speech leading up into this - it was more about us staying the course with our process."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Miami had been ready for his team. "People don’t ever seem too amped up around here," Kerr said of the atmosphere. "It really wasn't that rabid an environment. It was typical Miami. The main part of Jimmy's return is that the Heat were ready. And Spo (Spoelstra) had them ready. It was about how hard they played and how well they competed. They took it to us."
