Heat's Jimmy Butler out for play-in game vs. Bulls with MCL sprain; reportedly to miss 'multiple weeks'

The Miami Heat have a second chance to make it to the playoffs after losing the first play-in game to the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night, but Jimmy Butler won't be able to help them. After injuring his knee during the Heat's 105-104 loss, Butler has been ruled out of Friday's game against the Chicago Bulls with an MCL sprain.

According to The Athletic's Sham Charania, Butler is expected to miss multiple weeks with the injury.

Butler's injury happened in the final seconds of the first quarter. He landed hard on the floor after going for a layup and was down for several minutes in obvious pain.

Despite being in serious pain, he got up and shot two free throws. Then, despite an obvious limp, Butler stayed in the game, playing more than 39 minutes, the second-most of any other Heat player. His 19 points were also the second-most on the team.

Butler staying in the game felt like a good sign, but he had a limp that only got worse as the game went on. Butler said later that the injury “had me feeling that I couldn’t do too much."

A camera caught him walking out of the arena very, very slowly and with a pronounced limp.

Butler had an MRI Thursday, which reveal the MCL sprain. He has only been ruled out for Friday for now. Should the Heat advance past the Bulls to play the Boston Celtics in the first round, there should be more clarity on how much time he could miss.