SHOP
It’s good to have Jimmy Butler back.
Thanks to the 31-year-old’s leadership on both ends, the HEAT snapped their five-game skid and defeated the Kings 105-104 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Let’s get right into his performance and some other takeaways.
1. Buckets Byke
After missing ten games due to health and safety protocols, Butler wasted little time to get going in this one.
Seriously, he showed almost no rust at all and got into the paint at will from the start. As such, he slowed things down for Miami and made the offense run much smoother.
Oh yeah, he also reached 10,000-career points on this play late in the second quarter:
And while he came up huge in a 20-point first half, he continued to facilitate for his teammates and attack the basket after the break.
In fact, he hit the go-ahead bucket with 42 seconds remaining.
That’s Jimmy for ya.
When it was all said and done, Butler amassed a game and season-high 30 points (tied with De'Aaron Fox) on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 14-of-16 shooting from the stripe, a game-high eight assists and seven boards.
2. Bam Seals It
Although Bam Adebayo mixed up his offensive approach with jumpers, rolls to the rim and iso attacks, his biggest contribution came on the defensive end.
Not only did he make things tough for Sacramento at the backline of the zone and in help situations, but also in one-on-one man scenarios.
I mean, this block on Richaun Holmes at the buzzer speaks for itself:
Bam just loves clutch blocks, doesn’t he?
In all, the 23-year-old accumulated 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the stripe, a game-high 13 rebounds, four assists, a team-high two steals (tied with Kelly Olynyk) and that block above.
3. Duncan Finds The Range
Duncan Robinson came into the night in a little bit of a rough patch, but he didn’t let that deter him one bit and continued to get to his spots along the perimeter.
In addition to leading the squad with four made triples, he also competed hard on the defensive end against Sacramento’s slew of talented wings.
Speaking of which, he drew his fifth charge of the season on Buddy Hield midway through the third quarter.
Robinson finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-8 from distance, three boards, one assist, one block and a plus-six rating.
Other Takeaways:
-Max Strus got loose in the fourth quarter and scored four of his seven points in the final period thanks to some timely cuts to the basket.
-Tyler Herro did plenty of damage off the bounce and concluded with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-5 from downtown, four rebounds, three assists and a game-high two blocks (tied with Hassan Whiteside).
Game Notes:
-Avery Bradley (right knee contusion), Goran Dragić (left groin strain) and Moe Harkless (left thigh contusion) were active scratches.
-Meyers Leonard (left shoulder strain) and Chris Silva (left hip flexor strain) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will continue their homestand on Monday at 7:30 PM against the Hornets. You can catch all the action on FOX Sports Sun and 790 The Ticket.