Getty Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
The Miami Heat fell to the first loss of their second-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, May 6, and were held to just 79 points in the process.
Miami still holds a 2-1 lead over the Sixers. Still, it’s no coincidence that their first loss of the series comes on the night that Joel Embiid returned to Philadelphia’s rotation as the MVP front-runner made his presence felt on both ends of the floor following a two-game absence due to an orbital fracture.
Following the Sixers’ victory, Embiid took to Instagram and began to joke about him wearing a mask, which elicited an NSFW response from Jimmy Butler, Embiid’s former teammate and close friend.
“F*** yo mask!” Butler joked in the comments section.
Kyle Lowry Makes Series Debut
Embiid wasn’t the only player making their first appearance in the series, as Kyle Lowry also took to the floor for the first time since May 22, following a hamstring strain that had kept him out of Miami’s previous four games.
However, despite his return to the court, Lowry was unable to provide much of an impact as he failed to register any points and only took four shots in 25 minutes of gameplay. Still, Lowry is one of the better guard defenders in the NBA, and even without his scoring punch, his presence would still have been expected to boost Miami’s defensive ceiling.
“I had one good day of working out. You know, a half-day. I’ve just got to find a rhythm, I didn’t expect to be amazing tonight, but I also didn’t expect to have zero points. Just try to get a feel for the game, just be out there, especially in this hostile situation; I just want to be out there with my group.
And they did a good job tonight, and we’ve gotta’ bounce back and continue getting ready for the next game…If I’m on the court, I ain’t gonna make no excuses; I’m healthy as I can be right now. I’ll get some treatment and be ready to go on Sunday,” Lowry said following his underwhelming return to Miami’s rotation.
Butler Credits Embiid’s Impact on Game Three
As a former teammate of Embiid’s, Butler has seen firsthand what the dominant big man is capable of when motivated. Playing in his first game of the series, Embiid dropped 18 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and provided an assist, block, and steal over 36 minutes of gameplay.
“You add Jo to any team, home or away, the game, the scouting report, it changes drastically. He’s been like that for his entire career. But that’s not the reason we lost the game; we didn’t get back, turned the ball over, we fouled, there was a lot that went into that, but he is a big part of it,” Butler said when asked about Embiid’s impact, “He’s one more person that you really have to guard and lock into; that can play anywhere on the floor, can do anything with the basketball, and you see what he does on the defensive end. We only scored 79 points, and a lot of that is because he takes away the rim.”
Butler and the Heat still have another game to play at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, May 8, before the series shifts back to Miami. Erik Spoelstra and the Heat will be hoping to right the ship in game four and will look to close out the series in front of their home crowd, but they will need a much better performance from Lowry if they wish to do so.