"We’re gonna go get one on the road" - Jimmy Butler confident despite losing Game 4 at home
Jimmy Butler is buoyant of the Miami Heat's chances of closing out the series on the road despite losing Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. The Heat had a prime opportunity to close out the series but failed to do so.
The Heat, who were up 3-0 in the series, led by as many as nine points in the third quarter. However, the Celtics rallied to secure a 116-99 road win to force a Game 5 at home in Boston.
Following the disappointing loss, Butler was asked what he does to avoid getting too low on himself after tough losses. The star forward said that he and his teammates will take some time to unwind before trying to close out the Celtics on the road in Game 5:
“Stay consistent. Do the same thing that I do, that we do after every game,” Butler said. “We’re gonna listen to some music. We're gonna drink some beers back there, gonna go have some wine. I don’t think that you can just focus on basketball all the time. You have to be able to get away from the game a little bit."
He continued:
“But at the end of the day, you fall back on your habits, how consistent you’re gonna be. And myself and my teammates, we’re gonna do the same thing. We're gonna smile. We're gonna be in this thing together like we always are, and we’re gonna go get one on the road.”
Jimmy Butler on whether Celtics have momentum after Game 4 win
During his postgame interview, Jimmy Butler was also asked whether the Celtics may have gained momentum following their Game 4 win. Butler was very defiant, saying that the Heat gained momentum instead, as the loss will provide them with extra motivation:
“No, if anything it will build momentum for us, knowing that we have to play with a lot more energy,” Butler said. “We gotta play like our backs are against the wall. But, I think all year long, we’ve been better when we have to do things the hard way.”
Butler also said that the Heat have to pick up their defensive intensity moving forward after a lackluster effort in Game 4:
“We didn’t do our job in making them miss shots,” Butler said. “But I think we let go of the rope on the defensive side of the ball, turned the ball over, didn’t get back in transition.
"All the things that we said we were gonna do, we did not, and that was the game. It got out of hand pretty early, our energy was low, which we cannot have, and it’s on myself and it’s definitely on our starting group to make sure that that doesn’t happen (again).”
Game 5 between the Heat and Celtics takes place on Thursday in Boston.
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