Heat lose to Jazz 136-100 in first game of Jimmy Butler suspension

For the 119th time since Jimmy Butler joined Miami, the Heat played a game without him.

This was different from the others.

And it went very — very — badly for Miami.

Butler is gone, banished by the Heat for seven games over what they called conduct detrimental to the team — and he's probably not going to play for Miami again. His suspension started Saturday night when the Heat played the Utah Jazz, and the team says it will agree to his wishes and try to facilitate a trade.

Game 1 of the Butler suspension was a disaster: The Jazz, who entered with a 7-25 record, took a 43-point lead and wound up winning 136-100. They outrebounded Miami 57-32, and it didn't seem that close.

"It's disappointing when you see the organization and a player going head-to-head like that," Heat captain Bam Adebayo said Saturday after the team's shootaround practice. "But the rest of us got to figure out how to win games."

They did not have it figured out Saturday. Not even close.

They hadn't lost a game by more than 19 all season. They lost this game by 36, the sixth-biggest home loss in franchise history.

Butler has not commented publicly on the suspension. The National Basketball Players Association spoke out on Butler's behalf hours after the Heat announced the suspension on Friday, saying it believes the team's actions are "excessive and inappropriate." The suspension could cost Butler about $2.4 million of his $48.8 million salary this season.

"It's none of our business," Adebayo said. "It's for Jimmy and for the management to handle."

How it gets handled from here, and on what timeframe, is anyone's guess.

There was a new starting lineup with Butler gone: Miami opened the game with Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Nikola