Category: Basketball

Warriors' Butler shrugs off Heat return as just ‘another game' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

For Jimmy Butler, the Warriors’ upcoming matchup with the Miami Heat on Tuesday is just another game. On just another day that ends in -y.

And while that might be the sentiment that Golden State’s veteran forward coveys publicly, the first game against his former team since the blockbuster Feb. 5 trade is one Butler likely has had circled for quite some time.

However, you wouldn’t know that based on his comments about the upcoming matchup after the Warriors’ 124-115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

“Yeah, I was traded from there, yada, yada, yada,” Butler said after Saturday’s loss about his return to Miami. “Yeah, it didn’t end the way that people wanted to, yada yada yada.

“But that’s so far behind me now. I don’t even think about it. I don’t pay attention to nothing except for the trajectory of this squad.”

Butler led the Heat on two NBA Finals runs in four years, and as he prepares to return to the arena where he played five-plus seasons and created countless memories, he is not worried about the reception he will receive from Heat fans on Tuesday night.

“Not really, don’t make no difference,” Butler said. “I’m a member of the Golden State Warriors. I love that fan base. They showed me a lot of love while I was there. But I’m there to win now. I’m on the opposing team.”

While Butler had plenty of success during his time in Miami, he and the Heat ultimately fell short of their ultimate goal.

“We were alright,” Butler shared. “We didn’t win nothing like we were supposed to. So I don’t know. We made some cool runs. We had some fun. I think that’s all we did.”

Despite Butler’s subdued reaction to the Warriors’ upcoming game, the weight of the reunion is not lost on his new teammates.

“We got Jimmy over here, I know this is a big game for him,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “They got [Andrew Wiggins] over there. I know it’s a huge game for him. We want to win for Jimmy, they’re going to want to win for Wiggs. We got to come out ready to play.”

After a frustrating loss to the Hawks without injured superstar Steph Curry, the Warriors (41-30) will look to bounce back against the Heat (29-41) on Tuesday in a game that probably means more to Butler than he is willing to admit.

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The returns of LeBron James and Rui Hachimura could not save the Los Angeles Lakers from a sixth defeat in nine NBA games as they were well beaten by the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

James made his Lakers comeback after seven games out with a groin injury while Hachimura had missed 12 matches with a knee problem.

But they could not prevent the Lakers losing 146-115 - with Chicago running up their highest score of the season to improve their record to 31-40.

Coby White had 36 points for the Bulls and rookie Matas Buzelis added 31, while 22-year-old Australian Josh Giddey claimed his 15th triple-double - 15 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds.

Luka Doncic led Los Angeles (43-27) with 34 points - 29 in the first half - while James scored 17, and they cut the score to 65-64 at the start of the third quarter, but the Bulls had racked up a 104-89 lead going into the fourth.

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Elsewhere in Saturday's match-ups, Giannis Antetokounmpo notched 32 points and 17 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks rallied from a 14-point deficit to win 114-108 at the Sacramento Kings.

The Golden State Warriors remained without leading scorer Stephen Curry, because of a pelvis injury, as they lost 124-115 at the Atlanta Hawks, with Trae Young scoring 25 points in his his 41st double-double of the season.

Tyrese Haliburton returned from a three-game absence to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 108-103, with team-mate Pascal Siakam scoring a game-high 26 points.

Karl-Anthony Towns claimed 31 points and 11 rebounds to help the New York Knicks win 122-103 at home to the Washington Wizards.

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