After helping the undermanned Miami Heat secure their first victory of the 2020 NBA Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers, star forward Jimmy Butler knows his squad has a lot more fight left in this championship series.
"I think we realize that we belong. They can be beat, as long as we do what we're supposed to do," Butler said postgame.
Butler's 40-point triple-double helped him become the first player to ever outscore, outrebound, and out-assist LeBron James in a Finals game.
"I thought Jimmy was phenomenal," James told reporters. "He did everything that they needed for him to do tonight."
James, who was playing in his 52nd-career Finals game, may have unintentionally prompted Butler's big night after apparently warning him his team was "in trouble" during the first quarter.
"First of all, we're not gonna act like I'm just out there talking trash because I'm not. Bron said it to me at the end of the first, that's what happened," Butler acknowledged. "I just said it to him in the fourth quarter."
After his best career game to-date, Butler clearly stated only one goal in mind outweighing the importance of individual statistics.
"I don't care about a triple-double, I don't care about none of that, I really don't," Butler said. "I want to win. We did that. I'm happy with the outcome."
Thanks to Butler's incredible outing, Miami has an opportunity to even up the series in Game 4 on Tuesday.
