MIAMI – Forward Jimmy Butler will miss his fourth consecutive game with a toe injury, listed out Sunday by the Miami Heat for Monday night’s game at Kaseya Center against the Houston Rockets.
The absence will be Butler’s eighth in the last nine games, previously out with a strained left calf. He then returned for the Dec. 30 road loss to the Utah Jazz, but left that game in the third quarter with what now is listed as an MP joint sprain of a toe on his right foot.
Under a new rule adopted in the offseason, players must appear in at least 65 games to qualify for postseason awards, such as All-NBA, ineligible if missing more than 17. Monday’s absence will be Butler’s 12th in the Heat’s first 36 games. Butler, 34, was second-team All-NBA last season.
In a more heartening turn, forward Haywood Highsmith has been cleared from NBA concussion protocol and will be available Monday after missing the past three games. Highsmith absorbed a blow to the head in the waning seconds of the loss in Utah.
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Unlikely to return is forward Caleb Martin, who is listed as doubtful, having missed the past five games with a sprained left ankle.
Back with the Heat is center Orlando Robinson, after scoring 41 points in a Friday night G League appearance with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Sent to Skyforce for seasoning was two-way player Cole Swider, who is listed as out for Monday night.
Dragic’s decision
Butler is among those scheduled to attend Goran Dragic’s retirement celebration in August in Dragic’s native Slovenia, with the two having grown close during their time together with the Heat.
In the wake of announcing his retirement from basketball a week ago, Dragic, 37, revealed he had discussed a Heat return, but the Heat’s roster situation and position against the luxury tax ultimately precluded that possibility.
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“The only option was Miami, with whom I was in talks,” Dragic told a Slovenia media outlet about his considerations for a final NBA season. “In the end, it didn’t work out because they have too many players under contract.”
Dragic said there also were offers to play in Europe, a path taken by his brother Zoran Dragic, who briefly played for the Heat and currently plays for Cedevita Olimpija of the Slovenian League.
“I will be honest. I had offers from Europe, from Milan, Madrid, Panathinaikos, Barcelona,” Goran Dragic said. “I never wanted to go back to Europe. I wouldn’t want to be without my children living in the U.S. for a year.”
Conditioning work had been ongoing.
“During this time I was at home, I trained every day, even now,” he said. “But my children are the most important to me now. I took them to school every day and saw how much time I lost in my career. That is the main reason I retired.”
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Health also factored.
“My left knee is not in the best condition,” he acknowledged in the interview with Sportklub.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
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Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Inter Miami players celebrate after scoring a goal against Orlando City in MLS.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
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Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
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Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
Rain floods Miami Beach streets, cut short Miami Heat Family Festival
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Much-needed rain fell across South Florida on Sunday, but the downpour quickly led to flooding and traffic headaches.
“The drainage systems aren’t the best but in ten minutes it will be gone,” one person said.
The rain lasted longer than 10 minutes, flooding several spots along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.
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In one neighborhood, at least a foot of water blocked the entrance. Drivers who attempted to pass through sent waves crashing onto nearby sidewalks.
The heavy rain also snarled traffic on parts of Interstate 95 and on the bridges to and from Miami Beach, slowing drivers trying to get around the area.
“It’s Miami for you. What do they call it, a sun shower?” one driver said.
The weather disrupted Sunday plans for many. The 26th annual Miami Heat Family Festival was cut short after strong winds swept through Dan Paul Plaza, knocking over several tents.
There is no word yet on how or when the Miami Heat plan to make up the family festival.
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Brett Knese
Brett Knese joined the Local 10 News team as a general assignment reporter in March 2025.
Jack and Jill of America’s Miami chapter closed out Black History Month with an inaugural “Roots Across Waters” trip to Nassau, where families explored ancestral sites, honored the Bahamian labor that helped build early Miami, and donated Afro‑Caribbean children’s books to local students.
