Hobbled Jimmy Butler acts as a "decoy" as the Heat win Game 1
Posted : 01 May 2023
Even with the ball in play, Jimmy Butler continued to perform his shooting motions while standing in the corner of the court at Madison Square Garden.
The Miami Heat player knew he had little time left in the game, but he wasn't going to leave the field.
The Heat defeated the New York Knicks 108-101 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal battle despite Butler twisting his right ankle on a drive with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter.
"I didn't do too much except for airball a 3," Butler said. "I'll take the dub."
Butler added, "Like a rolled ankle," when asked how his ankle felt.
Butler did not speak to the reporters after the game, but he was hunched down when he entered the Miami Heat locker room. After the game, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had no new information on Butler.
"You just don't know with ankle sprains," Spoelstra said. "I don't even know if we'll know more by tomorrow. We'll just have to see. It'll be a waiting game. You just don't know with ankle sprains. I don't even know if we'll know more by tomorrow. We'll just have to see. It'll be a waiting game."
Josh Hart, a Knicks guard, was the target of Butler's right-handed drive with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter. Butler sprang up to take a shot as soon as Hart made contact with him. Butler's right ankle was booted by Hart as he collapsed.
Butler threw himself to the ground and seized hold of his foot. He lay on the ground for a while before tentatively making his way to the Heat bench.
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