Miami Heat show grit to win without 'jobless' Butler

The Heat announced ahead of Monday's game that Butler had been suspended for an indefinite period to last at least five games.

The team said in a statement that Butler had shown "a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services."

Miami added that Butler – who had already been suspended twice in the last four weeks – had walked out of practice, with reports suggesting he reacted badly to the news that Haywood Highsmith would replace him in the starting lineup.

Butler's absence did not cost the Heat as they rallied from 14 points down to beat the Orlando Magic 125-119 in a double-overtime thriller at Kaseya Center.

Tyler Herro had 30 points and Bam Adebayo added 26 for the Heat, who are now 23-22 for the season and sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Speaking after the game, Spoelstra said: "What it means right now is just we proved to ourselves that we have a tremendous amount of grit. You gain confidence from that."

Bam was on another level tonight pic.twitter.com/sG12xMrkTA

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 28, 2025

Butler is looking for a trade ahead of the deadline on Thursday, February 6, but that could prove difficult owing to his $48.8million salary.

Asked if the team had been affected by any disruption ahead of Monday's game, Spoelstra told the Miami Herald: "I don't really care. We're just focusing on the task at hand."

Heat captain Adebayo echoed his coach's sentiments after the victory, saying: "For me, this shows that through all the noise and all the chaos, we can still win.

"We still can come together and be a great team."

Butler, meanwhile, poked fun at the situation on his Instagram account, posting a clip from US sitcom Martin, in which the character jokes about being "jobless".