The Miami Heat will be without their top scorer as they face a critical road test tonight.
The Heat announced Wednesday that guard Jimmy Butler is out against the Houston Rockets (8 ET, League Pass) because of an illness.
Butler has been battling an illness since earlier this week, but did fly with the team to Houston for Wednesday’s game, per Khobi Price of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Spoelstra said Butler did not attend Wednesday’s shootaround.
Currently his first season with the Heat, Butler leads the team in scoring (18.9 ppg), assists (6.7 apg) and steals (2.6 spg) while ranking among the team leaders in several other categories. At 12-4, Miami has the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and has won six of its last seven games.
