Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler Out Tonight Against Oklahoma City Thunder

Butler is sitting for rest purposes because of his ongoing knee issues

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler will not play tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

The Heat are holding Butler out for rest purposes because he is dealing with knee pain. 

Here's the game preview:

Game time: 7 p.m., ET

Where: Paycom Center

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Betting line: Heat -3

VITALS: The Heat and Thunder meet for the first of two matchups this regular season. Last season, Miami swept the series 2-0 and has now won four-straight overall, tying the longest winning streak against OKC. Additionally, Miami has won four consecutive on the road against the Thunder, also tying the longest road winning streak in the team’s history. The HEAT are 28-40 all-time versus Oklahoma City during the regular season, including 15-19 in home games and 13-21 in road games. For the Heat, Jimmy Butler (rest), Nikola Jovic (G League) Gabe Vincent (knee) and Jamal Cain (G League) are out and Max Strus (shoulder), Victor Oladipo (knee) and Duncan Robinson (ankle) are probable and Dewayne Dedmon (foot) is questionable.For the Thunder, Ousmane Dieng (G League), Chet Holmgren (foot), and Jeremiah Earl-Robinson (ankle) are out.

PROJECTED STARTERS

HEAT

G Tyler Herro

G Kyle Lowry

C Bam Adebayo

F Caleb Martin

F Jimmy Butler

THUNDER

F Aleksej Pokusevski

F Luguentz Dort

G Jalen Williams

G Josh Giddey

G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

QUOTABLE

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on Monday's win against the Pacers: “We knew coming in it was going to be by any means necessary. If you don't lock in and play defense, they can take a 10-, 12-point lead on you quickly. This is not an easy team to play.”

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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