Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat managed to avoid a painful defeat, as they held onto their lead over the resilient Dallas Mavericks to win in overtime. The final score, 122-118, definitely justified the kind of basketball the American Airlines Center fans deserved to see.
Butler gave the Mavs praise, as shared by Brad Townsend. He said that they're still a competitive team even after Luka Doncic went out early with an injured ankle. He also talked about how unfortunate the injury was.
Jimmy Butler (H/T @dfwsportsguy93) pic.twitter.com/8Iw9QwSU8N
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) December 15, 2019
Butler finished the game with a solid performance. In 43 minutes of play, he notched 27 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and a steal. However, he was very ineffective from the field, shooting only 36% on the floor and 16% from deep.
However, he doesn't only expect himself to win. He wants the young Miami team to learn from these close games to improve themselves and become better players in the process.
He had this to say after the team's overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks, per the Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman:
“You never take winning lightly in this league, because it's hard to do, home or away,” he said, with the Lakers game to be followed by a three-game trip. “But you can learn from your wins just like you can learn from your losses.
“Obviously, you want to learn from your wins more because nobody likes to lose. I think we're coming together really nicely. We're just having some mental lapses and some slip-ups that we need to correct.”
Butler is doing well in his first season for the Heat. He's averaging 21 points, seven, rebounds, and seven assists on 43% shooting.
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