Tyler Herro Says Jimmy Butler 'Like a Brother to Me' with Heat

The Miami Heat are one win away from the NBA Finals after defeating the Boston Celtics 112-109 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. Rookie guard Tyler Herro led Miami with 37 points on 14-of-21 shooting (5-of-10 from three-point range) off the Heat bench.  

In a postgame chat with reporters, Herro expressed how much Miami forward Jimmy Butler has meant to him.

"Ever since I got here he's been like a big brother to me. ... Without Jimmy, I probably wouldn't be doing this as a rookie," he said, per ESPN's Nick Friedell.

Four Heat players scored 20 or more Wednesday, with Butler adding 24 points and nine rebounds.

The Heat's excellent team chemistry has been evident throughout their season, and the Herro-Butler relationship has been no exception.

Herro, in particular, has shined throughout his rookie year, but especially so against the C's, averaging 20.5 points per game.

Herro had more to say on Butler outside of calling him a big brother, as he noted on the Heat Live postgame show (h/t Izzy Gutierrez of ESPN.com): "I more wanna do it for Jimmy, though. ... He hasn't been to the Finals. I wanna do it for him. ... He's been a great big brother for me since I've been in Miami, and I know how much it means for him to win. And I wanna help him get there."

When Butler heard about Herro's compliments, he deflected and gave the rookie all the credit, per Brendan Tobin of Sports Talk 790 AM's Tobin & Leroy:

Butler and Herro have a strong friendship, with Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire reporting more on July 23: "Butler has said several times this season that he has been impressed with Herro. He loves his demeanor on the court and, perhaps, even more, loves his approach to the game and work ethic. Butler even had Herro in for his infamous 4 a.m. workouts last summer, which helped start the friendship between the two players."

Herro also sang praises for Butler's leadership after their Game 1 win against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, per Will Manso of WPLG Local 10 News.

Herro said then that the Heat planned to follow Butler through the 15 more wins needed to take an NBA championship home.

Miami has five more left at this point and can make it four with a victory on Friday in Game 5, which would clinch an NBA Finals berth for the Heat.