The Warriors suffered a 112-86 to Heat on Tuesday.
It wasn’t a day to remember for the Golden State Warriors. The sixth-seeded Western Conference side visited Miami for their second game on the road. However, it didn’t turn out to be the way they would have wanted. Coming on the back of a 124-115 defeat against the Hawks, the Warriors fell to the Heat in an embarrassing 112-86 loss.
The side, which is now 18-17 on the road this season, was visiting the Heat for the first time since the Jimmy Butler trade. All eyes were set on the six-time All-Star. However, contrary to all expectations, Butler failed to deliver much and had a forgetful day against his former side. The 35-year-old played for a total of 29 minutes and finished with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Butler was expected to shoulder scoring responsibility for his side in the absence of Curry. However, after his disappointing show, the Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr credited the rivals and said that “Heat were ready.”
In the post-game conference, Kerr reflected on Butler’s performance and said, “The main part of Jimmy’s return is that the Heat were ready. They knocked everything down early and we missed everything and we were playing upstream the whole game.”
While Butler said that it was just another game for him, his struggles spoke otherwise. During the game, Butler was shooting 5-of-12 from the field and failed to convert both his three-pointer attempts. The Texas-born had only one steal with zero turnovers and no blocks.
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The Golden State Warriors coach also took a subtle jab at the crowd at Kaseya Center, indirectly commenting on their enthusiasm for the game. He said, “Miami is a great place to live. People don’t ever seem too amped up around here. So it really wasn’t that rabid an environment. Typical Miami.”
Notably, the Heat fans have often faced criticism for their lack of energy as well as late arrivals to games. Despite having a rich history, the Heat have received flak from NBA experts and commentators for their laidback dedication towards the team as compared to other franchises.
Before the game, Miami gave a tribute to their former star with a video highlighting his tenure with the franchise. However, it turned out that there was no sound in it. Kerr spoke about the pre-game video to the media and said he had no idea if anything was going on. He said, “I don’t know what was going on pregame, because there was a video with no sound. I was wondering what was happening.”
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With two straight losses, Steve Kerr and Co. will now travel to New Orleans to face Pelicans on Friday.
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