The Butler didn’t do it: Heat beat Warriors in star’s return to Miami

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Miami, which won only 6 of 23 games since trading Jimmy Butler in February, gets one up its former star as the Heat dump the shorthanded Warriors

Jimmy Butler, playing against the Heat for the first time since they traded him, was held to 11 points as host Miami defeated the shorthanded Golden State Warriors, 112-86, on Tuesday night, March 25 (Wednesday, March 26 Manila time).

Miami got a game-high 27 points and 8 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, 20 points and 7 assists from Tyler Herro and 17 points from Alec Burks.

Miami (31-41) is just 6-17 since trading Butler on February 6. Golden State (41-31) is 16-5 since making the move.

Butler got a mixed ovation when he was introduced prior to the game. But as the contest wore on, he was greeted with boos every time he touched the ball.

The Warriors were -19 points when he was on the court on Tuesday. Butler finished with 6 rebounds and 2 assists and made 5 of 12 shots.

Andrew Wiggins, who went to Miami in the Butler trade, posted 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and a game-high 3 blocks.

The Heat’s rookie 7-footer Kel’el Ware made a spectacular shot in the third quarter. While in the air, he lost control of the ball, re-gathered and then flipped in a reverse layup with English. He finished with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Duncan Robinson, one of Miami’s top three-point shooters, sat out due to back pain. Golden State was missing 11-time All-Star Stephen Curry, who has a pelvic contusion.

Just 79 seconds into the game, Draymond Green was bloodied as he took an inadvertent elbow from Adebayo. Green remained in the game.

Golden State, which missed its first seven three-point shots, trailed 28-22 after one quarter. Adebayo had 13 points in that quarter, including a banked-in 18-footer with 0.2 seconds left in the period.

Miami stretched its lead to 57-40 at halftime, including a three-pointer by Herro at the buzzer.

At halftime, Butler had just two points on 1-for-6 shooting. He was stripped on a fastbreak, and Ware blocked his shot to wipe out another potential score.

Golden State cut its deficit to 83-70 after three quarters. But Miami finished that quarter on a 5-0 run.

Miami extended it to a nine-point run to start the fourth quarter, and the Heat kept Golden State from seriously threatening the Heat the rest of the way. – Rappler.com