Jimmy Butler's much-anticipated return to Miami ended on an embarrassing note as the Golden State Warriors lost the game to the Miami Heat by a staggering margin of 26 points. The Warriors visibly missed the services of their talisman, Stephen Curry, who was out on account of a left pelvic contusion. Butler himself did not have a memorable day at the office. He raked in just 11 points on the night as the Warriors went down 112-86 against the Heat.
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Jimmy Butler's Immediate Reaction After Loss to Heat
Following the culmination of the game, Jimmy Butler expressed his immediate thoughts and made it known that Stephen Curry's presence is vital, but the team needs him to recover and get back better than ever. While Curry's absence is too big a loss to endure, according to Butler they are still playing to win and are expected to win. He then admitted that the Warriors have been inferior in the last two games and need to get back to winning ways quickly. Lastly, he reiterated the need to have Steph back in the squad.
“We definitely need 30 back,” Butler told reporters. “But we want him to be right. We’re still expected to win. We got to put out a better effort than we have the last two games. If he’s back, I think it’ll be different.”
Curry joined the team in Miami but did not play even after he was upgraded to "questionable" in the injury report.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said they did not want to throw caution in the wind despite Curry looking good in the team’s practice.
“He wasn’t quite there, we just can’t risk it,” Kerr told reporters. “He worked out yesterday and he looked good but at the very end of the workout, one movement that he made that didn’t quite feel right.”