Jimmy Butler After Heat's Game 3 Loss: 'Now We'll Really See What We're Made Of'

The Miami Heat have led a charmed postseason run to this point, losing just one game en route to the Eastern Conference Finals. 

That streak ended with a 117-106 Game 3 loss to the Boston Celtics, but Miami star Jimmy Butler is ready to embrace the challenge that comes with it. 

"We didn't play hard enough, or do anything we set out to do," Butler told reporters. "Now we'll really see what we're made of."

Butler posted 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the loss, finishing behind forward Bam Adebayo (27 points, 16 rebounds) as the Heat's second-leading scorer. 

It was nowhere near enough to keep up with Boston. 

Every starter except Daniel Theis (eight points, seven boards) finished with at least 20 points for a Celtics team that shot 48.2 percent from the field to Miami's 38.8 percent.

Boston's shooting has remained relatively consistent through three games of the conference finals, but Miami's offense sputtered on Saturday. 

If it wasn't apparent in the first three quarters, trailing by 20 points in the fourth certainly cleared that up. While the Heat have been able to battle back from large deficits all postseason, it's not exactly the most conducive strategy to win a title.

"We can't keep getting in these deficits and go to the fourth and expect us to turn it on," Adebayo told reporters.

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra tried to place the loss in context almost immediately after the game ended. Knowing how his team performed previously, he hoped this would give the squad reason to reconsider its approach before Game 4 on Wednesday.

"We got some time," Spoelstra said. "It will be good. I want our guys thinking about this."