Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke about Miami Heat fans after his team fell in Miami on Tuesday night.
Former Heat star Jimmy Butler made his return to Miami on Tuesday as a member of the Warriors, but Kerr said that it wasn’t that “rabid” of an environment at Kaseya Center.
Steve Kerr on the Jimmy Butler return environment: “Miami is a great place to live. People don’t ever seem too amped up around here. So it really wasn’t that rabid an environment. Typical Miami. The main part of Jimmy’s return is that the Heat were ready.” pic.twitter.com/BbeWUim60w
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 26, 2025
No matter what the environment was on Tuesday, the Heat were the better team in the matchup with Kerr’s Warriors.
Miami got out to an early lead and was able to hold onto it, outscoring the Warriors by 13 in the fourth quarter to secure a 112-86 win. Golden State didn’t have star Stephen Curry in the game, but Miami’s defense still deserves a ton of credit for holding the Warriors to just 39.8 percent shooting from the field and 23.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Butler didn’t have his best game in his return to Miami, finishing with just 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field. He also pitched in six rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Even though Butler’s tenure with Miami ended poorly, as he was suspended by the franchise multiple times, the Heat still had a tribute for him on Tuesday night.
Jimmy’s tribute video from the Heat pic.twitter.com/jiasv8ffoS
— Heat Nation (@HeatNationCom) March 25, 2025
During his time with the Heat, Butler led the franchise to two NBA Finals appearances and three Eastern Conference Finals appearances. The Heat most recently made the NBA Finals as the No. 8 seed in the conference during the 2022-23 season.
Since Butler contributed so much during his time in Miami, fans might have been torn on how to feel about him on Tuesday night. While he didn’t end things on good terms with the franchise, he is still seen as one of the most impactful players to wear a Heat uniform in recent years.
With the win over Golden State, the Heat improved to 31-41 on the season and have now won back-to-back games. Still, Miami is just the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face an uphill battle to get into the final playoff field in the East this season.
The Heat will be back in action on Thursday for a matchup with the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta is ahead of Miami in the standings and holds the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
