Many believed that the Miami Heat winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Boston Celtics was a fluke. But Jimmy Butler and co. proved that wrong by taking a 2-0 lead in the series.
During the fourth quarter of the matchup, Williams learned his lesson about not poking the bears. He got into a heated altercation with Jimmy Butler with less than seven minutes left to be played in the final period of the game. Following the argument, Butler caught fire and led the Heat to a 111-105 win. After the game, Williams talked about his incident with Jimmy.
“I think he said something and I responded. You know, for me, I’m a competitor, and I’m gonna battle,” Williams said. “He got the best of me tonight, and at the end of the day, it’s out of respect, because I’m not gonna run away from it. My mom always taught me, and my dad as well, you get your a** kicked and you don’t come back home until you come battle again. You either come back before you die, or you come back and get a win — and I’m not willing to die in this Finals.”
Williams added: “For me, it’s a matter of understanding that, yeah, sure, you did ‘poke a bear.’ And how are you going to respond? Because, for me, he made some tough shots. I battled, and I’m going to keep battling. He’s going to have to make every single tough shot the rest of the series, and I’m not going to turn and look otherwise because I respect him as a motherf*****g player.”
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Following Williams’ heated scuffle with Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat went on a 24-9 run to close the game. Thus, clinching a 2-0 lead in the series.
No matter how he defends his actions, Williams talking back to Jimmy was the reason behind the Celtics’ defeat. It was a great lesson for him to learn to never mess with a superstar who has a tough mentality like Butler.
Jimmy Butler On His Heated Altercation With Grant Williams
Jimmy Butler recorded 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. He is continuing his phenomenal form in the 2023 NBA playoffs.
Butler shared his views on getting into it with Grant Williams in the fourth quarter of Game 2. The 33-year-old shared it fueled him to win the game for the Heat.
“Yes it did,” Butler said when asked if the incident fueled him. “But that’s just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me, I like that, I’m all for that. It makes me key in a lot more and it pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile, it does when people talk to me… I do respect him, though. He’s a big part of what they try to do, he switches, he can shoot the ball. I just don’t know if I’m the best person to talk to.”
Jimmy Butler has established himself as one of the best playoff performers over the last few years. A crucial reason behind it is the fact that Butler has a tough mentality. Whenever someone talks trash to him, he responds with great performances.
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