Jimmy Butler feared to have suffered MCL injury in loss to the 76ers… with Miami star set for MRI scan before Heat faces Chicago for final playoff spot

Jimmy Butler says he needs an MRI of his right knee after suffering an injury in the first half of the Miami Heat’s play-in loss to the 76ers on Wednesday.

Late in the first quarter, Butler bent his knee and fell while trying to catch Kelly Oubre Jr. from Philadelphia to fake it. The latter appeared to land on Butler, who led the Heat from the play-in to the NBA Finals last year.

After the collision, Butler sank the first free throw before missing the second. He stayed in the game and scored 19 points, while his team barely got a lead, 105-104, from Joel Embiid and company.

“I fell, he landed and my knee just wasn’t doing right, I guess,” Butler said. ‘Don’t know. It’s not a good feeling, I can tell you that.’

Miami still has a chance to make the playoffs as they host the Chicago Bulls in the final play-in meeting for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Butler suffered the injury after a collision with Kelly Oubre Jr. from Philadelphia in the first

The Heat star stayed in the game and scored 19 points as Miami fell 105-104 to Philly

“We just have to get one and then we’ll worry about the next one,” Butler said.

It was not immediately clear if Butler would be available to play.

“I felt like I couldn’t do too much, which is bad because of the timing of the game and everything,” Butler said. ‘I hope I’m doing well. I hope I wake up tomorrow and can still stick around. At this point, I cannot continue to believe this is the case.”

Butler, a former Sixer, scored 20.8 points in 60 games for the Heat. The Marquette product said he stayed in the game because he thought the “adrenaline would kick in again” and he would feel healthy enough to play at his usual level.

Butler was 5 of 18 from the floor overall, but scored just two points in the fourth as the Heat collapsed in the quarter.

“That just wasn’t the case,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything on either side of the ball. I think I hurt us more than I actually helped us.”