Butler, Haslem, Spoelstra involved in a heated spat on the bench / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

The Miami Heat (47-26) suffered a home defeat against the Golden State Warriors (48-25), losing 104-118 (23-23, 27-27, 30-31, 24-37), but the spotlight was Jimmy Butler, Udonis Haslem, and Erik Spoelstra's spat during one of the timeouts.

Player of the Game EFF 27 Jordan Poole Points 30 Accuracy 10-18 Rebounds 4 Assists 9

Everything started with Butler and Spoelstra's discussion on the bench. While it's unclear what Butler said, Spoelstra answered, "What? Do you want me to fight you?"

That sparked the veteran Haslem. He was already standing and tried to inspire Butler to shift his anger towards the opponent.

"Show them! Show them! We are not your mother******* enemy. We not your enemy!" Haslem said.

After that, Butler also stood up from the bench and said something back to Haslem. This led the 41-year-old veteran to a stronger response.

"I'll beat your ass," Haslem told Butler repeatedly. Both Haslem and Butler had to be separated.

However, that wasn't the end. Just before the end of the timeout, Butler had another spat with Spoelstra. After having a heated discussion, both of them had to be separated as well by players and other coaches.

"Everybody was wondering where the dinner plans were after the game," Spoelstra said after the game on what happened in the huddle.

The Heat (47-26), who have the best record in the Eastern Conference, have lost two straight games.

Kyle Lowry led Miami with 26 points and a game-high tying 9 assists. Miami was also helped by Bam Adebayo's 25 points and nine rebounds and Jimmy Butler's 20 points. Butler went 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. That's noteworthy because he entered the game shooting just 18.5 percent from deep this season.

Damion Lee, Andrew Wiggins, and Jonathan Kuminga added 22 points each for Golden State (48-25), which broke its three-game losing streak.

Kuminga fouled out with 5:35 left. The Warriors challenged the call, arguing that Butler should've been charged with an offensive foul, but the officials ruled a lack of conclusive evidence for an overturn.

Golden State Warriors / Schedule

Golden State Warriors San Antonio Spurs108-110 Orlando Magic Golden State Warriors94-90 Miami Heat Golden State Warriors104-118 Atlanta Hawks Golden State WarriorsFri23:30 Washington Wizards Golden State WarriorsSun22:00 Memphis Grizzlies Golden State WarriorsTue00:00 Golden State Warriors Phoenix Suns03-3102:00

The Warriors, on the second night of back-to-back games, rested Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Otis Porter Jr., and were also without star guard Stephen Curry (left-foot injury).

Miami was without its second-leading scorer, Tyler Herro (knee injury). Heat reserve Gabe Vincent (toe injury) also missed the game.

In the first quarter, Miami led by 11 points before going scoreless for the final 4:24. That allowed Golden State to forge a 23-23 tie to end the quarter. The Warriors had a 14-2 advantage in points in the paint, which made up for 1 of 10 3-point shooting. Miami shot 5-for-10 from deep.

The game was also tied at halftime, 50-50, as Lowry had one steal and two buckets in the final 12 seconds. Lee kept Golden State in the hunt with 12 second-quarter points off the bench. Miami had a 9-0 edge in second-quarter fast-break points.

Golden State started the third quarter by scoring 19 straight points on 7-for-9 shooting. Miami missed eight straight shots and had two turnovers to start the quarter.

However, Miami closed the quarter with a 30-12 run, closing the Heat's deficit to 81-80.

Golden State was able to close out the Heat in the fourth quarter, however.

For the game, the Warriors shot 51.9 percent from the floor, including 41.7 percent on 3-pointers (15-for-36). Miami shot 43.5 percent, including 14-for-36 on 3-pointers (38.9 percent).

Heat: Kyle Lowry 26 (6/9 3PT, 9 AST), Bam Adebayo 25 (9/16 2PT, 9 REB, 4 AST, 4 TO), Jimmy Butler 20 (5/13 2PT, 2/2 3PT, 5 REB), Duncan Robinson 13 (4/11 3PT, 6 AST).Warriors: Jordan Poole 30 (7/13 3PT, 9 AST, 5 TO), Jonathan Kuminga 22 (9/14 2PT), Andrew Wiggins 22 (5/9 2PT, 3/7 3PT), Damion Lee 22 (3/6 3PT, 9/9 FT, 6 REB), Gary Payton 11 (4/4 2PT, 5 REB).

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