Jimmy Butler had a lot to say after the Miami Heat lost Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Boston Celtics. The NBA All-Star took responsibility for the team’s crushing loss at home.
“Like I told the guys on the bench, I told the guys in the locker room, that if I play better, we’re not even in this position, honestly speaking,” Butler said. “And I will be better. That’s what makes me smile because those guys follow my lead. So when I’m playing better, I think we’re playing better as a whole.”
Butler finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists in Game 6. However, the swingman shot only 5-of-21 from the field. The Celtics won on a game-winning tip-in by Derrick White at the buzzer after Butler made three free throws to give the Heat a one-point lead.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & Boston Celtics Updates
Miami now has to win Game 7 in Boston to avoid becoming the first team in NBA history to lose a series after taking a 3-0 lead.
“When we huddle up after the game after a tough loss like this one, everybody is smiling because we know we’re very capable of it, Butler said. “I’m telling you. And we are not going to let up. I’m not going to let anybody quit. I’m not going to let our guys quit. I don’t give a damn what happens. We’re going to go in there and we’re going to win.
“Let them know that as good or as bad as we played tonight, we still lost. So we still have got a job to do at the end of the day and we will be in this thing together. Home, away, on the road.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & Boston Celtics Updates
Butler is averaging 24.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists in the conference finals. The 33-year-old will have to have his best game of the series in Game 7 and it sounds like he’s confident that will happen.
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