Butler pours in 38 in Heat win
Heat star steps up, puts team on his back and sizzles for 38 points as Miami cruises to blowout of 76ers
MIAMI — Jimmy Butler has favored the support system this season with the Miami Heat.
But as that support fell by the wayside Monday night at American-Airlines Arena, he showed that his one-man show can still provide quality theater.
In a game the Heat lost Meyers Leonard and Tyler Herro to injuries, Butler stepped up with his highest-scoring game as a member of the Heat, closing with 38 points in a 137-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Attacking early and then stepping back for 3-pointers later, Butler surpassed his previous Heat high of 37 points by the later stages of the third quarter, not needed for more than 29 minutes of action, with the Heat taking a 97-77 lead into the fourth quarter against his former team.
There also was ample support from Butler’s fellow Heat All-Star, with Bam Adebayo contributing 18 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds, as well as 24 points from former Heat All-Star Goran Dragic.
The Heat closed with three turnovers, a franchise-record low. The previous record was four in 2009 against the Orlando Magic. The 137 points were a season high.
The Heat improved to 34-15 overall with the victory, with the loss dropping the 76ers to 9-18 on the road.
With the victory, won the season series 3-1, which could stand as a potential playoff tiebreaker.
Five degrees of Heat from Monday’s game:
1. Attack again: As was the case in Saturday’s victory in Orlando, Butler opened in attack mode, only a 20-foot second-period jumper interrupting his early assaults in the paint.
He was up to 23 points at halftime, at 7 of 7 from the line to that stage.
And then he did something he had not done since Jan. 17, converting a 3-pointer midway through the third period that put the Heat up 71-57. He had missed his 13 previous attempts beyond the arc before that conversion.
He then made his next attempt, as well, closing 2 of 2 from beyond the arc.
2. Down go Leonard, Herro: The Heat lost Leonard midway through the third quarter when he went down on the offensive end, struggled to limp back to the defensive end, and then had to be assisted to the locker room, with what was diagnosed as a sprained left ankle.
Leonard has started all 49 games this season.
He had three points and five rebounds when forced out after 16 minutes of action.
The Heat also were without Herro for the second half, due to a sore right foot, which required extra pregame taping.
The first-round pick out of Kentucky closed 1 of 6 from the field in his 10 minutes, with two points and one assist.
3. Few answers: The Heat again opened with Leonard as the initial defender on Joel Embiid, much to the delight of Embiid, who was up to 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting by the end of the first quarter.
The Heat then moved to Adebayo with the assignment, with the result a pair of Adebayo fouls on two of Embiid’s touches in the second quarter.
But that also was when the 76ers moved away from
Embiid’s offense, partially because of an effective Heat zone, but also further raising questions about the chemistry of Brett Brown’s team.
Embiid closed with 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 12 rebounds.
4. Revised rotation: After a pair of questionable alleyoop attempts and a shaky overall performance, James Johnson was replaced in Monday night’s rotation by Kelly Olynyk, who played as the Heat’s fifth reserve.
Olynyk had been held out of the previous two games, after playing 20-plus minutes in his previous three appearances.
5. Up next: And now arguably the ultimate road test of the season, a five-game western swing that runs until the All-Star break.
It starts Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, followed by games against the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz.
The Heat enter with a 12-12 road record, 11-8 overall against the West, but just 3-6 against the West on the road.