IN THE LANE

BUTLER NOT A FLOP: The lesson from Jimmy Butler’s antics Tuesday night against the New York Knicks? Faking a flagrant is not the same as flopping for a foul. The NBA has confirmed there would be no further sanction for Butler’s self-professed acting, when the Heat forward writhed in pain (while also offering a wink to teammates) after a foul Tuesday night from Knicks forward Julius Randle. Of the play in question, the only notation in the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report was, “Randle (NYK) dislodges Butler (MIA) from his position during the loose ball.” The officiating staff then reviewed the play for a possible flagrant foul, before standing with the call as a common foul. According to the NBA’s anti-flopping policy, it is the inducing of a whistle that subjects a player to follow-up penalty. With the Butler play, there already was a legitimate whistle for a foul. The rule: “Players may not commit any physical act that, following review, reasonably appears to be intended to cause the game officials to call a foul on another player.” Entering the weekend, the league had issued five warnings for flopping this season: DJ Augustin, LaMelo Ball, Mason Jones, Kristaps Porzingis and Gary Trent Jr. The first violation is a warning, with ascending fines following.

HEAT LEGENDS APPROVE: When the Heat on Wednesday night face the Golden State Warriors, they will be facing a certifiable legend in Stephen Curry. Says who? Says a pair of Heat legends. For his part, Shaquille O’Neal said on TNT’s NBA coverage that he has come around to Curry being more than a one-dimensional shooter. “When I first started watching him play,” O’Neal said, “I used to hate it. I used to be at home like, ‘Oh, he’s not gonna make that,’ and he’d make it. Every time I’d say he wasn’t gonna make it, he made it. And then when they started winning championships, me and Charles [Barkley], we’re old school, we’re like, ‘You’re not gonna win championships shooting threes.’ But when they shut us all up and kept winning rings, he definitely got my respect. But he’s still doing the same thing, and I’ve never seen a guy play like that.” Said Dwyane Wade, now also a Turner studio analyst,“This guy, he’s my favorite player to watch play the game of basketball now. I’m jumping on the Shaq bandwagon. He’s my favorite player to watch.”

THE HASSAN SHOW: The night after that Warriors game, the Heat will move on to play the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. That means the season’s second reunion with Hassan Whiteside, who has begun to anchor the Kings’ defense while typically keeping things light in the locker room. “He’s kind of like my big bro in a sense of messing around with me all the time and staying on me all the time,” emerging Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton said. When not confounding Haliburton with requests for french fries that will remain crisp for team flights, it appears Whiteside again has found a happy place. “He’s big for us, big for me being a guard, coming off the pick-and-roll, I can count on him to set solid screens, to roll,” Haliburton said. “He’s got a nice touch around the rim. So it’s nice to have him.”

OVER THERE: In a recent interview with Canada’s CBC, former Heat forward Kyle Alexander explained how he went from the NBA Finals on a two-way contact with the Heat to winding up this season playing in Spain. The Canadian native said there first was a pit stop at a Toronto Raptors tryout camp in Los Angeles before heading overseas. “To have that jersey on my chest and to be representing them, I went in there really motivated,” the former University of Tennessee forward said. “I was proud of how I did, but it just didn’t end up working out or making sense at the moment.” The goal remains an NBA return. “It’s a good opportunity to come out here, find yourself play and make money playing the game you love,” he said of playing with Fuenlabrada in Spain’s top league. “And then you keep working on it while you’re out here, kind of isolated from your friends and family. You use that as motivation to get better.”