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Miami's Jimmy Butler (ankle) cleared to return for Game 3

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Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) smiles on the bench in the final minute of the second half of Game 1 in the NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series against the New York Knicks, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

MIAMI ā€“ Jimmy Butler was cleared to return to the Miami Heat lineup on Saturday, in time for him to play in Game 3 of his teamā€™s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Knicks.

Butler sprained his right ankle with about 5 minutes left in Miamiā€™s Game 1 victory. He did not play in Game 2 on Tuesday, when New York evened the series.

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In six playoff games so far this season, Butler is averaging 35.5 points on 59% shooting, with 6.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Butler had a career-high 56-point effort against Milwaukee in Game 4 of Round 1, followed by a 42-point outburst two nights later as the eighth-seeded Heat eliminated the top-seeded Bucks.

Butler entered Saturday as the No. 2 scorer in this seasonā€™s playoffs, behind only Phoenixā€™s Devin Booker ā€” who is averaging 36.9 points and passed Butler for the top spot by scoring 47 in the Sunsā€™ win over Denver on Friday night.

The Heat ruled Udonis Haslem out for Game 3 with a stomach illness. Miami is also without Victor Oladipo (knee) and Tyler Herro (hand).

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


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