Jimmy Butler scores 45 to lead Heat to 2-0 series lead vs. Hawks
Jimmy Butler scored 45 points Tuesday night to lead the Miami Heat to a 115-105 win against the Atlanta Hawks and a 2-0 series lead in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Butler, 32, had never scored more than 40 points in a playoff game before Tuesday and his 45-point total is the most he's scored in any game since January 2017, while he was still with the Chicago Bulls. Butler joins Dwyane Wade and LeBron James as the only three players to score at least 45 for the Heat in a playoff game. In addition to his scoring onslaught, which included four three-pointers, Butler also added five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Miami led by 16 in the fourth quarter, but Atlanta cut the lead to just four with a 12-0 run. In the final minutes, Butler scored seven straight all on his own to push the Heat's lead back to double-digits.
In Game 1, the Hawks' All-Star point guard Trae Young missed all seven of his three-point attempts. Those struggles continued Tuesday when he made only two of 10 tries from beyond the arc. In the regular season, Young made 38.2 percent of his three-point attempts.
Game 3 in Atlanta is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
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