Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler starred on both ends of the floor in Wednesday's Game 1 against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Boston Celtics. He scored 35 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field, dished out seven assists, pulled down five rebounds, and came up with six steals in a game the Heat went on to win by a final score of 123-116.
On Thursday, Heat point guard Kyle Lowry — who scored 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field off the bench in Game 1 — spoke with the media. When asked about Butler's performance in Game 1, Lowry dropped cold hard facts on his teammate's playoff brilliance, per a tweet from ESPN NBA writer Tim Bontemps:
“Jimmy is playing at a level that hasn’t been seen in a long time.”
Kyle Lowry: “Jimmy is playing at a level that hasn’t been seen in a long time.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 18, 2023
Kyle Lowry, 37, is in his 17th year in the NBA and second as a member of the storied Heat franchise. He averaged 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 1.9 turnovers per game across 55 appearances this season (44 starts).
The former Villanova star struggled to shoot the ball efficiently from the field in the 2022-23 campaign, even by his standards — Lowry's 40.4% field-goal percentage was his lowest since the 2012-13 season.
Lowry, Butler, and the Heat have a potentially series-defining Game 2 ahead of them on Friday. If they can beat the Celtics on the road once again, they will own a commanding 2-0 series lead heading back to Miami for Games 3 and 4. So here's to hoping that Butler can put together another masterclass on Friday and lead the Heat to victory.
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