The Miami Heat continue to be on a slide, as they suffered a 110-108 home loss to the Washington Wizards on Sunday. The Heat had a chance to tie the game with seconds to go in regulation, but Jimmy Butler elected to go for a 3-pointer, instead of a higher-percentage shot to force overtime.
After the game, Butler said that he would always for for the win in such situations.
“I’m never going for the tie. Ever,” the Miami Heat star said (h/t Brady Hawk of Five Reasons Sports).
Some will argue against that kind of basketball philosophy, but at the same time, Butler is also shooting 42.5 percent from behind the arc so far in the 2023-24 NBA regular season. Then again, he is only taking 2.4 attempts from deep per game. It all boils down to confidence that Butler seemingly has a bottomless reservoir of.
Butler was also 0/3 from the 3-point area prior to that shot late in the contest, leaving many to wonder whether he really made the right call there. He ended the game with 23 points on 9/20 shooting from the floor and 5/6 from the free-throw line, while also adding three rebounds and four assists plus a steal and a block in 36 minutes.
The Heat are now on a three-game losing skid, having lost to the Dallas Mavericks and to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the two games before the clash with Washington. The Wizards only had 10 wins entering the game against the Miami Heat, but somehow found a way to outplay Butler and company. The Wizards were led by Kyle Kuzma, who put up 32 points, while Corey Kispert supplied Washington with 22 points with five 3-pointers.
Miami Heat Preparing For NBA Finals Rematch Against Denver Nuggets
Butler and the Heat can get back to their winning ways this Wednesday, but that is going to be easier said than done, especially since they will be playing the same team that beat them in the 2023 NBA Finals, the Denver Nuggets. After the date with the Nuggets, though, the Heat will have back-to-back games against arguably the worst team in the NBA today, the Detroit Pistons.
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