Jimmy Butler Takes Blame for Heat Game 6 Loss to Celtics: "I Will Be Better"

Jimmy, sports are replete with dramatic changes of emotions in a tick like that. Can you just take us through from the elation of seeing it called a three-shot foul, making the three shots, and then that final Celtic sequence? Basketball for you. Basketball is fine. It's very, very, very entertaining. But that's good basketball. And I think, I believe, as we all do, like, you're going to get the same test until you pass it, I swear. We were in the same position last year. And we can do it. I know that we will do it. We got to go on the road and win in a very, very, very tough environment. But we're capable of it. So let's get busy. Jimmy, you're all about kind of seeing even keel through the ups and the downs. How do you, as a leader, kind of try to keep this team mentally in it after a loss like this? Let them know that as good or as bad as we played tonight, we still lost. So we still got a job to do at the end of the day. And we will be in this thing together, home away on the road. And if, like I told the guys on the bench, I told the guys in the locker room that if I play better, we're not even in this position, honestly speaking. And I will be better. And that's what makes me smile, because those guys follow my lead. So when I'm playing better, I think we're playing better as a whole. Jimmy, to follow up on that, I mean, that's obviously one of the craziest endings in the history of the game. How do you get everybody through the emotional hurdle of losing in the final second? I mean, I'll tell you, there ain't nothing that you can do about it now. All you can do is move on. But honestly, I'm proud of the guys to never give up, fight to the very end, and giving us a chance to win this basketball game. Didn't go our way, part of it. It hasn't been going our way a lot this year. So this is nothing new. We got to go on the road and do something special. But we got a special group, so why not it be us? Jimmy, it's been a long playoffs, maybe even the nature of the series longer than maybe you even expected. How do you just continue to push through from a physical standpoint? I mean, we pride ourselves on being able to do that. I don't know the quote, but Spoe probably does, the most well-conditioned, most professional, name it, we're all of that. This is what we do every single day in the offseason, in the preseason, during the regular season four, is to be able to be tired and still figure out a way to win, be tired, still be able to execute. We have to be able to do that now of all times. I think we will. Jimmy, over the last few years, you've somehow been involved in some of the craziest playoff bounces, endings. Was there any part of you walking up floor like, I can't believe this is happening again? Nope. I got to figure out a way. And the craziest part is, I don't got too much to do. We're going to do it as a unit, every single time. And we're going to be in this thing together. I know that for a fact. You know, when we huddle up after the game, after a tough loss like this one, you know, everybody's smiling because we know we're very capable of it. I'm telling you. And we're not going to let up. I'm not going to let anybody quit. I'm not going to let our guys quit. I don't give a damn what happens. We're going to go in there. We're going to win. Jimmy, are you a Nostradamus? Because last year, May 29, 2022, you sat at this stage and said that we're going to get it done. And we have what it takes. Why do you still feel that way? Because we got some good basketball players on this team. Got some good people that work hard, that do things the right way, and that put the team first and want to win. At the end of the day, that's all that you can ask for from anybody, especially my teammates. And we have a great group. We got some guys that don't quit. We got some guys that have had a long road to get to this point. So why give up now? You know, this is the stage that we're on. The stage is set. This is when the lights are the brightest. And my guys are going to show up. You mentioned needing to play better. Do you feel like there's anything Boston's doing differently, kind of these last few games specifically on you? And what do you kind of feel that is? No, I just missed shots. Just got to make them, you know, continually hit the open guy, stay aggressive, and continue to lead the way for our guys. They definitely follow my lead. I will say that. They follow Bam's lead as well, but especially me. So if I'm level-headed through the good and through the bad, they will be as well. And so I'm going to smile. I'm going to go home and play some spades. I don't care what nobody say. Everything will be okay. You mentioned being level-headed the night going as it was for you individually. What were you thinking about? What was your mindset in those last five minutes? And then that final stretch, did you feel like you found some answers? I feel like I made some shots. That's the game as a whole. But I know the work that I put into it. I know the work that we put into it. And I know the confidence and the faith that my coaches and teammates and this entire organization has in myself and everybody else on this roster. We're not going to change. We're going to keep doing punches with the best of them. We're going to see where we end up. But like I said, if I'm better from jump street, we're not even in that position. So everything that happened tonight, if I don't go five for 21 and turn the ball over and all of this good stuff, it's a different story. I got on a different hat up here and we're getting ready to go to the finals.