Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler admits Grant Williams trash talking spurred him on to game two success

Miami Heat took a 2-0 series lead against Boston Celtics following an emphatic display from Jimmy Butler.

Heat powered to a 111-105 win away in Boston to build their lead in the Easter Conference finals. The win is all the more impressive considering the Celtics had a considerable lead heading into the final minutes of the match. However, it was trash talking from Boston’s Grant Williams which inspired a Miami comeback. Midway through the fourth quarter, Williams sunk a three-pointer to give his side a 96-87 lead with just over six minutes remaining. The 24-year-old proceeded to taunt Butler, though that did not end up working in his favour. The Heat star played a starring role as his team went on a 24-9 run to secure their second victory in the series.

When asked whether the trash talking inspired his grand stand finish, Butler said: “Yes, it did.

“But that’s just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me. I like that. I’m all for that. “It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does. “When people talk to me, I’m like, OK, I know I’m a decent player, if you want to talk to me out of everybody that you can talk to. But it’s just competition. “I do respect him, though. He’s a big part of what they try to do. He switches. He can shoot the ball. I just don’t know if I’m the best person to talk to.” Caleb Martin was glad to see Williams taunt the Miami man as he knew the reaction it would eventually draw. “I knew it was going to be good for us,” said the Heat guard. “Knowing Jimmy, at that point in the game, you get him going, we’ll take mad Jimmy any time. I knew that you could kind of see it in his eyes that he was ready to go after that.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra added: “Look, I love that gnarly version of Jimmy, but you get that regardless. “I just think people now are paying a lot more attention to him now that we’ve won some games in the postseason the last few years. Jimmy is just a real competitor.” The third match of the series takes place on Monday 1.30am UK time.

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