The hearts of Miami Heat fans around the nation sunk for a few moments as Jimmy Butler hit the floor, writhing in pain on Sunday.
Miami's superstar injured his ankle late in the fourth quarter of his team's 108-101 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square in Game 1 of the second-round playoff series.
Butler seemed to have severely rolled his ankle while driving to the rim against Josh Hart, stepping on Hart's foot in the process as he got fouled. He remained on the floor in pain for a while before heading back to the bench.
One of the fiercest competitors in the league, he willed himself back to the game to take his two free throws. He would remain in the game for the final few minutes as the Heat closed it out, serving mostly as a decoy in the corner.
Following the win, ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth asked Butler about the state of his ankle, and he didn't reveal a whole lot.
"Feels like a rolled ankle," he responded.
Butler was in the midst of another great postseason performance Sunday as he finished with a team-high 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals on an efficient 8-of-16 shooting from the field.
He also made nine of his 11 free-throw attempts.
Coach Erik Spoelstra and the rest of Heat nation will be hoping that the injury doesn't turn into anything long term as they entered this series already short-handed without Tyler Herro or Victor Oladipo.
As vague as Butler during the interview, Spoelstra didn't have much of an update either in his postgame press conference:
Butler is the second high-profile ankle injury of this series, as Julius Randle sat out of Game 1 with a sprained ankle that he aggravated against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.
The Knicks will need him back to help combat what has been the NBA's best postseason offense through the first round in Miami.
Game 2 of the series is set for Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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