Jimmy Butler: We’ll just have to close it out at home

Jimmy Butler maintains his faith in the Miami Heat, convinced that his team will close out the series against the Boston Celtics and advance to the NBA Finals, despite two straight losses that have narrowed their series lead to 3-2.

“Because the last two games are not who we are,” he stated. “It just happened to be that way. We stopped playing defense halfway because we didn’t make shots that we want to make. But that’s easily correctable. You just have to come out and play harder from the jump. Like I always say, it’s going to be all smiles and we are going to keep it very, very, very consistent, knowing that we are going to win next game.”

And for the upcoming game, Butler’s message is clear: “We’ve just got to play better,” he said. “Start the game off better, on the starters, make it more difficult for them. They are in a rhythm since the beginning of the game. But we are always going to stay positive, knowing that we can and we will win this series. We’ll just have to close it out at home.”