Jimmy Butler’s belief helps fuel Heat’s G1 comeback vs. Celtics

BOSTON — Jimmy Butler’s belief in himself and his team is so strong that it is palpable within the Miami Heat’s locker room.

After the superstar swingman dominated yet another postseason game — scoring 35 points while racking up seven assists, six steals and five rebounds in Wednesday night’s 123-116 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals — he acknowledged that he always believed this kind of run was possible for the eighth-seeded Heat, despite all the obstacles that have appeared in their way throughout the season.

“Damn right I did,” Butler said. “Damn right we did. And the best part about it is we still don’t care what none of y’all think, honestly speaking. We don’t care if you pick us to win. We never have. We never will. We know the group of guys we have in this locker room. We know that Coach [Erik Spoelstra] puts so much confidence and belief in each and every one of us. Coach Pat [Riley] as well.

“So our circle is small, but the circle got so much love for one another. We pump constant confidence into everybody. We go out there and we hoop and we play basketball the right way, knowing that we’ve always got a chance.”

The Heat continue to play their best basketball in the midst of a dream run through the playoffs that only they believed was possible. After squeaking out a win over the Chicago Bulls in the final Eastern Conference play-in game last month, the Heat knocked off the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games and the No. 5-seeded New York Knicks in six. Now they have a 1-0 lead over the Celtics — the team that beat them last year to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Heat, who have won Game 1 in each of their first…