NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

May 27, 2022

Kyle Lowry

Jimmy Butler

Miami Heat

Game 6: Postgame

Heat 111, Celtics 103

Q. For both of you guys, without talking injury specifically, to push through what you had to push through for this moment, does it make it all the more satisfying? When so many people were talking Warriors against the other team, what's it like to go back to Game 7 in your house?

KYLE LOWRY: I think we won the game. We haven't done much. We still got to go home and protect home. All we did was go out there and win a basketball game. That's all that really matters, try to win one game.

JIMMY BUTLER: Yeah, I think we just did our job. We've been saying it this entire series: It's not finished yet. We got Game 7 at the crib and we need a win.

Q. Jimmy, how did you develop the mental toughness you needed to keep rising up and delivering in these big moments in the biggest games?

JIMMY BUTLER: I think the majority comes from the work I put in. I do give Chris Brickley a lot of credit for that. Every city I'm in, he's flying in and out of it. He's in Miami.

If it's not because of him, it's because of Kyle, my coaches, my teammates letting me know to be aggressive, go out there, be the best player on the floor. I just got to remember that every time I take the floor.

Q. Jimmy, you said on the court that D-Wade called you today. A little bit more on what that was like to get that call? Did you spend the rest of the afternoon thinking about his message to you?

JIMMY BUTLER: D-Wade never hits me until his voice is really, really needed. And it was. I texted him and told him I appreciate him for it. Just to let me go out there, continue to build on that legacy and make sure that we win.

I think I did decent throughout the game. But everybody else, Vic's charge at the end, Kyle playing the way he played, his injury. It just feels great to get one on the road.

Q. What did you do in the last day and a half to get your knee in a better place than it's been the last few games?

JIMMY BUTLER: Rest, ice, massage, all of that good stuff. The same thing every single day. We do it a little bit tonight, some more tomorrow, then before the game, be ready to rock.

Q. Kyle, you made a bit of a face when Jimmy said he had a decent game. How would you describe his game?

KYLE LOWRY: It's (expletive) incredible. My bad. My bad. Don't fine me, NBA. That was a mistake, I promise.

JIMMY BUTLER: Definitely fine him. You fine me all the time. Fine him.

KYLE LOWRY: He's such a humble basketball player. The work he does put in, I witness it. It's incredible to have a guy like him next to me. I've played with some great players, and he's one of the best players I've played with.

To do it on this stage, Game 6, win or go home, do or die, I wouldn't want to lace them up with any other people but this guy.

Q. Kyle, you didn't make too many threes last game. Were the looks different tonight or a matter of just more going in?

KYLE LOWRY: I think we just made them, made a few. I think we played with a little bit more confidence. I think we had some just unfinished a little bit.

We knew we needed to make some shots. That's a great defensive team. Give them credit for how they've been guarding us and forcing us into things that we don't want to do. But we played with some oomph tonight and it felt good to do it.

Like I said, we haven't done anything. Just got one more opportunity to try to win one game.

Q. Kyle, we remember what you were saying about how you were playing. You come out tonight and look like 2019 Kyle, whatever your previous best moment in the Playoffs was. Why such the turnaround in 48 hours?

KYLE LOWRY: Like I said, I'm never going to make an excuse. I played bad before. I have an opportunity to redeem myself. I got great guys in the locker room, great guys on our team, great organization, great people in my life who support me no matter what it is, ups, downs. They always say, Just do you. Tonight was one of the chances that I think Coach said it, a legacy game. Having a guy like him next to me helped that.

Q. Jimmy, it seemed like there were moments tonight where the Celtics looked like they were gaining momentum and on a bunch of those you made a big shot. Can you describe what it feels like to feel the energy come out of the crowd, to see their shoulders slump a little bit?

JIMMY BUTLER: I mean, it feels good to make shots as a whole. But I don't pay too much attention to the crowd. I want to win. I want to play basketball the right way. I'll do whatever my team, teammates need me to do. If it's score, if it's pass, if it's guard -- whatever it takes to get a dub, that's what I'm trying to do.