Miami Heat

After scoring a career playoff-best 45 points to put the Heat up 2-0 in their series with the Hawks, Jimmy Butler said he is a "different player" than he ...

He knows how to win, he knows how to help teams win, and the game is played on both sides of the floor, and it's played with IQ, it's played with toughness, it's played with making plays in those winning moments. "I'm a huge fan of the Backstreet Boys and I just love to compete at anything." Jimmy is a max guy, a go-to guy, a killer," Spoelstra said. "I think you have to have that dark side and kind of that demeanor to push other people to be better," he said of Butler. "But you also have to have the talent and the work ethic to do it. "I'm not as ball-dominant as I was in the bubble," Butler said. "I am a different player now than I was then," Butler said after a personal 7-0 run in the waning minutes of Game 2's fourth quarter increased Miami's lead from three to 10 to secure the victory.

MIAMI (AP) Jimmy Butler walked off the floor when his night's work was complete, lifted his arms in the air and heard a sold-out arena serenade him with ...

Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career-high 45 points to lead the Miami Heat to a win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.

The Hawks made adjustments to create more space for Young to operate and he was better after scoring a season-low eight points on just 1-of-12 shooting in Game 1. The officials also reviewed a swipe from Hunter that looked to make contact with Lowry’s face a few minutes later, but it was ruled a common foul as different players from both teams exchanged words throughout the night. The Hawks did not go away quietly, though, despite the Heat extending its lead to 16 with 8:50 play. With Heat starting center Bam Adebayo battling foul trouble all night and starting point guard Kyle Lowry finishing with just nine points on 2-of-8 shooting, Butler delivered a huge performance. The Heat is obviously in a good spot after winning the first two games of the series, and history confirms that. Miami entered the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead.

Coming into their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, one of the biggest questions about the top-seeded Miami Heat was how they would create ...

Heat up 7 with under 5 to play The Miami Heat are two wins away from a berth in the Eastern Conference semifinals. So now Atlanta heads home for what is essentially a must-win Game 3 on Friday. We'll see what kind of fight the Hawks have left. But one of the biggest leaps Young has made has been his reduction in ill-advised 3-pointers, and on Tuesday, flustered and rushed, he jacked up a bunch of bad 3s. The Heat are all over him with size and switches and he's seeing bodies sinking down into his driving lanes at all times. Young's turnovers were a mixture of his own sloppiness and soft/lazy passes and Miami's relentless pressure. Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a bunch of really tough shots -- 12-of-18 overall and 5-of-10 from 3 -- to finish with 29 points. The Hawks are nothing short of a dreadful defense. He shot 35 percent from deep in the bubble and so far this postseason he's 5-or-9 from 3. Every time the Hawks -- who didn't play well but managed to hang around long enough to have a chance late -- made a push, Butler had the answer. Jimmy Butler was relentless with 45 points, and he took complete control in crunch time. They blew the Hawks out in Game 1, so it didn't matter.

1. A game with great rhythm, this was not. The first half was messy for both sides, with plenty of free-throws, core players in foul trouble and turnovers ...

Of course the threes are only a minor compliment to the rest of his game, the cherry on top if you will, and the rest of his game was singing in this one as the Hawks, with their wings in foul trouble throughout, just couldn’t keep up with Butler’s physicality and timing. Atlanta still needs Young (a career-high 10 turnovers) to do so much, and the Heat are going to load up so many bodies in front of him, that the Hawks are going to need shooting to capitalize on how Miami is shooting the floor. 3. Atlanta’s big adjustment in this one – apart from simply showing up and being more competitive after a dud Game 1 – was to start John Collins at center alongside Danilo Gallinari. Along with Young, De’Andre Hunter and Kevin Huerter, that starting lineup had played just 38 minutes this season with Atlanta’s typically-great offense but a defensive rating (121.4) that would have been the worse defense in the league. For as much as the Hawks had zero defensive answers for the HEAT as a team in Game 1, they had nothing to offer Butler alone in Game 2. The third player in HEAT history to post a 45-5-5 in the playoffs – joining Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, who each did it once – and the first to post that line with zero turnovers. Maybe not statistically, given Atlanta’s 106.2 per 100 efficiency and 12-of-40 shooting – buoyed by Bogdan Bogdanovic catching fire in the fourth – but the spacing and half-court process was miles better.

The Miami Heat got off to a good start to open their 2022 NBA Playoffs journey. If this Jimmy Butler keeps showing up, they can keep on doing it too.

With this Jimmy Butler, all of the Miami Heat’s goals are before them. When you have a focused, engaged, determine, and mission-disciplined Jimmy Butler going for you, that’s a great thing. Sinking a contested three-ball to get them out of the gates, Jimmy was engaged and active from the very start. Even amongst all of that though, the lockdown defense and the light show on offense, there was something that stood out about this game. Of course, that was Jimmy Butler. Not only did they get it done on that side of the ball, but they were explosive on offense as well.

The Miami Heat present a greater challenge for Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks than the play-in teams thanks to their experience and toughness.

Well, the problem is that the Heat are drilled far to well in how to defend an opponent as a team. If they let the Heat jump them again, then the Hawks will struggle to be competive again. The Hawks went down against the Cavaliers early and it took a Trae Young takeover in order to get past them.

The Miami Heat's greatest player ever has become, somewhat, of an NBA wiseman. Check out how his impact is all over the NBA postseason.

He has been retired for three seasons, yet his impact is still being felt between the lines. Wade has always been vocal about the influence those three legends have had on him in all aspects of the game. Like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Allen Iverson, before him, the former Miami Heat star’s reach has gained him a budding player following.

Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade joined forces in two different points in their career, and it resulted in a championship. O'Neal was coming off three ...

CLICK HERE CLICK HERE “Dwayne Wade reminds me of a superhero movie," O'Neal said.

Q: Everyone is really sleeping on the Heat, even on these awards. But let them, for more motivation to the championship. -- Brian.

Pat Riley and the Miami Heat have been able to sign some of the biggest names in the NBA -- from LeBron James to Jimmy Butler -- by turning undrafted ...

We don't have the luxury of not knowing the plays like the draftees got. We don't have the luxury of not playing hard like the draftees got. We don't have the luxury of being lazy like the draftees got. "We don't have the luxury of making the mistakes that the draftees got. "People that are committed to the work and that process," Spoelstra says. ... That's really just the biggest thing that separates the Heat from a lot of other organizations: how much they care and want to develop guys." "It suits guys like us because we're just trying to take advantage of every opportunity because you never know when you're gonna get one or if we'd ever have one in the first place." "Our coaching staff, the majority of them are products of our player development program. "This is our first workout," the rep replied. Of the four teams, the Heat are the only one with a winning record. And then there was the decision to bring in LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010. Odom and Grant were used in the deal to acquire Shaquille O'Neal in 2004.

Brandon Ingram's rolling, Devin Booker's hurting and the Pelicans are tied 1-1 against the top-seeded Suns.

On the possession before he departed, he jumped to contest a fastbreak shot by New Orleans, but it wasn’t immediately clear that he was hurt. Booker missed multiple games earlier in the season with a hamstring injury. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. (Michigan State) each added 16 with Jackson hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range as the Grizzlies finished with seven in double figures. The Suns rallied for a 61-56 halftime advantage thanks to Booker scoring spree. Morant went to the bench with 4:40 left to a huge ovation. Naz Reid and Taurean Prince had 12 each off the bench, and D’Angelo Russell added 11. “That was probably, for us, the worst we have ever looked in transition since I have been here,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. They didn’t make the same mistake on Tuesday, taking a 30-28 lead after one quarter. He works his tail off, he’s a great teammate, high character, high IQ and he put it on display tonight.” He was having a big-time game, but it is what it is.” “Everybody was effective on the floor, all five. “We’ve got guys that are more than capable of stepping up,” Paul said.

Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent had 11 points, one rebound and three assists in a 115-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks. But his numbers did not tell the full ...

His effort and energy was fantastic and he [hit] a couple big threes in the first half and a big one in the fourth quarter. We all love him for that and he’s a huge key to us pulling off these two dubs.” He’s getting into the paint and getting guys the ball. “I’m just relishing in it,” Vincent said. Vincent and Kyle Lowry were tasked with defending Hawks star Trae Young. Young has garnered a lot of attention from the NBA world as a rising player. His confidence is growing, and he understands he’s a valuable member of this team and he belongs.”

The Miami Heat got another victory in Game 2 of their opening-round series Tuesday. In it, Jimmy Butler did something Dwyane Wade and LeBron James didn't.

However, things can be taken a step further. Finishing the game with 45 points, five boards, and five dimes, he would set his new career-high for a playoff game. The Miami Heat got another crucial victory on Tuesday night in the second game of their opening-round NBA Playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks. Though the Atlanta team came out with a much better effort in this particular contest, it still wouldn’t be enough to secure them a victory in the end.