Miami Heat veteran forward Udonis Haslem had some choice words for Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green after Miami's 111-103 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday.
Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Haslem took issue with comments Green made after the Celtics defeated the Heat in Game 5. At the time, Green appeared on TNT's Inside the NBA and said: "I'm going to tell you who I think we're going to play. We're going to play Boston. That's who we're going to play."
Haslem responded after Miami's Game 6 win, saying: "Draymond broke the code. You ain't supposed to say some s--t like that. That's disrespectful. He know better than that."
Now, the Heat and Celtics are set for a winner-take-all Game 7 in Miami on Sunday to determine the Warriors' opponent in the NBA Finals.
Regarding Green picking the Celtics to win the ECF, Haslem expressed his belief that Inside The NBA host Shaquille O'Neal pressured him into making a pick, saying: "He let Shaq peer pressure him into saying some s--t he ain't got no business saying. I didn't sleep much after he said that. That was some bulls--t."
Heat forward P.J. Tucker also seemed to take issue with Green, calling it "crazy" to count a team out.
Miami looked listless at times in Game 4 and 5 losses to the Celtics to fall behind 3-2 in the series, but the Heat turned things around in a big way in Game 6 thanks largely to the play of Jimmy Butler.
Butler left Miami's Game 3 win with a knee injury, and while he played in Games 4 and 5, he clearly wasn't close to 100 percent and struggled.
Game 6 was a different story, as Butler led all scorers with 47 points to go along with nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
Miami also got a great effort out of veteran guard Kyle Lowry, who recorded 18 points and 10 assists after struggling for much of the series.
Now, the Heat look to be firing on all cylinders and are heading back home to Miami for Game 7, shifting some of the pressure toward Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Celtics.
Bulletin-board material has long been a topic of discussion in sports, and while it is unclear if Green's comments played any role in the Heat's Game 6 performance, a little extra motivation never hurts.
If the Heat manage to prevail in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on their home court, they will perhaps bring that motivation with them to the NBA Finals against Green and the Warriors.
Heat's Udonis Haslem Says Draymond Green 'Broke the Code' with Celtics Prediction - Bleacher Report
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