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In spite of Draymond Green’s strange insistence that his Warriors would face the Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals, the East’s representative for the championship series remains undetermined. Rather than go quietly into the night, the Miami Heat managed to knot their conference-finals bout with the Beantowners at three games apiece with a 111-103 win on Friday. Now, a decisive Game 7 at FTX Arena on Sunday awaits.
Multiple Heat players contributed as the club staved off elimination, but none were anywhere near as impactful on both sides of the court as Jimmy Butler.
In 46 minutes of play, the six-time All-Star dropped a whopping 47 points on 16-of-29 shooting and added nine rebounds, eight assists, four steals and a block.
It was a performance for the ages, and Kyle Lowry was so taken aback by what Butler was able to accomplish in the series-saving win that he resorted to dropping F-bombs during his postgame media availability.
Lowry Gives Colorful Description of Butler’s Big Night
While Butler played it coy when asked about his outburst during the players’ mutual presser, Lowry couldn’t help but offer a more colorful description of the effort.
“It’s f*****g incredible!” Lowry exclaimed before quickly realizing the error of his ways. “My bad, my bad. Don’t fine me NBA. That was really by mistake, I promise.”
In spite of the compliment, Butler seized upon his teammate’s ill-timed verbiage and implored the league office to take disciplinary action.
“Definitely fine him, fine him,” Butler said “Y’all fine me all the time.”
After making a final plea not to be fined, Lowry recovered from his faux pas to speak with significantly more eloquence about what it means to have Butler by his side in South Beach.
“I just think he’s such a humble basketball player and the work he does put in, I witness it. It’s incredible to have a guy like him next to me. I’ve played with some great players and he’s one of the best players I’ve played with. To do on this stage — you know, Game 6, win or go home, do or die — I wouldn’t want to [team up] with many other people but this guy.”
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Lowry Was Pretty Sharp Himself
The playoffs have been something of a struggle for the 36-year-old Lowry, who has missed several games with a hamstring injury. However, he has now appeared in four-straight contests for the Heat, and his Game 6 performance was by far the best of his postseason run.
In 37 minutes of action, the 2019 NBA champion scored 18 points and hit four of his nine attempts from three-point range. He also added a game-high 10 assists (with just two turnovers), one steal and a blocked shot.
As good as he was, though, Lowry made a point to credit his teammates for the turnaround.
“I got great guys in the locker room, great guys on our team, great organization, great people in my life who just support me no matter what it is. Ups, downs, they always just say, “Do you and approach the game like you know how,'” Lowry said. “Tonight was one of the chances that — I think [head coach Erik Spoelstra] would have said a ‘legacy game.'”
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