Butler lets his actions do all the talking this time
No fireworks this time between Jimmy Butler and T.J. Warren.
Then again, perhaps the two were merely sparring for the main event — next week’s start of the NBA playoffs.
Meeting for the first of two games this week, and seeded for a potential best-of-seven postseason series that would start next week, the Miami Heat pushed past the Indiana Pacers 114-92 on Monday night at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
The last time the teams met, back in January, the Heat’s Butler and the Pacers’ Warren got into a heated series of words and gestures that left both eventually fined by the NBA. This time, the matchup was more subdued in the game played without fans in attendance amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was a said.
In the personal matchup, Butler took an easy decision, closing with 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Warren finished with 12 points, five rebounds and no other stats of note. Warren entered averaging 35 points in Indiana’s previous five games in the Disney bubble.
Butler shot 5 was 5 of 14.
“We just made everything tough for him,” Butler said. “When you go against the Miami Heat, we always have something in our back pocket.”
Warren acknowledged challenge.
“They had a good plan off the ball screens,” he said. “We had some good looks. We just didn’t make them tonight.”
The difference was that Butler was supported by several acrossthe-board Heat efforts, including 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Jae Crowder; 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Bam Adebayo; and 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds from Goran Dragic.
There also were 18 points from Derrick Jones Jr., off a series of lob feeds, and 17 from Tyler Herro, off a series of 3-pointers.
With Butler and Dragic back from injuries, the Heat moved to an 18-point lead in the third quarter after the teams stood tied at great team of 13, win,” while
Butler
Warren the 48-48 at intermission. They were up 85-71 going into the fourth, with the lead again climbing from there.
Five degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:
1. The showdown: To refresh, the last time Butler and Warren met, in a Jan. 8 Heat victory in Indianapolis, Warren was ejected for wagging a middle finger, with Butler then blowing a kiss in his direction. Both were fined.
Following that game, among Butler’s locker room gems were: “He’s trash” and “He’s not even in my [expletive] league” and “I can guard him and he can’t guard me” and “I’m going to tear his [expletive] up every time.”
This was that next time, put on hold by the NBA’s four-month shutdown due to the COVID-19. Butler opened defending Warren, but the Pacers opened with
Malcolm Brogdon on Butler.
Warren had 12 points at halftime but only two when Butler guarded him. Butler had 10 at intermission. Warren then went scoreless in the third quarter.
“We stayed aggressive [and] we guarded,” Butler said. “We didn’t turn the ball over. We rebounded the ball well. We played the way that we’re supposed to play.
“I’m telling you, we’re very tough when we decide to play like that.”
2. Do it again: The Heat and Pacers remain on a potential collision course for a first-round playoff meeting.
“We came out from the first minutes that this is going to be a really important game for us, and you could see,” Dragic said. “Jimmy was locked in, everybody basically.”
Both teams attempted to downplay the possibility of having up to nine games against each other over a 10-game span that began Monday.
“That’s certainly unusual circumstances,” Pacers center Myles Turner said.
3. Playoff picture: If the Philadelphia 76ers lose Tuesday to the surging Phoenix Suns, it would eliminate the possibility of the Heat dropping to No. 6 in the East, with that seed to face the Boston Celtics in the opening round.
With such a 76ers loss to Phoenix, it would mean the Heat’s first-round playoff opponent would be either Indiana or Philadelphia in a No. 4-No. 5 openinground series.
The Heat’s remaining regularseason games are Wednesday at 8 p.m. against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Friday at 4 p.m. again against the Pacers. 4. Jones up: The roller-coaster ride for Jones was, fittingly, on the ascent in this one, with 10 points at half, including three alley-oop feeds from Dragic, as the two kept going from there.
Jones’ scoring on the second unit was critical, with Herro limited by three fouls to only six firsthalf minutes.
5. Presumptive lineup: The Heat opened with their fourth lineup in their six games during the restart at Disney, but this one might have come with meaning.
Instead of returning to his sixth-man role, Dragic was in the first five, along with Adebayo, Butler, Robinson and Crowder, the Heat’s 14th opening lineup of the season.The question now is whether that will be the Heat’s playoff lineup or whether Dragic merely started as a placeholder for Kendrick Nunn.