Historic Jimmy Butler Performance Gives Heat 3-1 Lead Over Bucks
Jimmy G. Buckets.
With a chance to push the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks to the brink of elimination, Miami’s Jimmy Butler ensured his team did just that. The Heat’s top player dropped 56 points on 19-28 shooting in a performance that will go down in franchise AND NBA history.
Not only did Butler break the Heat record for points in a playoff game, but he tied the 4th-highest scoring total in NBA playoff history, per ESPN Stats. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, it’s also the highest-scoring postseason game since Giannis Antetokounmpo in July of 2021.
The Heat faced a deficit practically the entire game, even entering the 4th quarter down 11 points. However, from the 5:45 mark to the 3:17 mark in the final frame, Miami completely took over the game and erased Milwaukee’s lead. Trading buckets for the next couple of minutes, it was Butler who rattled off seven-straight points to ultimately put the game out of reach for the Bucks.
The first three of those points came on an epic, arena-shattering stepback 3-pointer.
Watch the madness:
Playoff Jimmy is a different breed, folks. While I’ve moved on from the Bulls’ decision to let him go all the way back in 2017, I’d be lying if I said watching him continue to have moments like this doesn’t sting a bit. What a freakin’ stud.
Anyway, Miami will now try to do the impossible and take down the NBA’s top team on Wednesday in Milwaukee. Only 13 teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit. Do the Bucks have what it takes?
