Monster Jimmy Butler game shoves Bucks to brink of elimination
Jimmy Butler wears No. 22, but when it comes to the postseason, he plays like No. 23.
Butler spearheaded a 13-0 Miami run that erased a 12-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. Then with 1:17 remaining, Butler hit two straight jumpers to give the Heat a 112-109 lead with under a minute to go, and give him a franchise playoff record 51 points.
In between, Butler forced a Giannis Antetokounmpo miss, then followed up his second jumper by fouling out Milwaukee's Khris Middleton. Of course, he made both free throws.
Reggie Miller called it "maybe the greatest playoff performance by any Heat player — and that's saying a lot."
Miller thought it was better than any single game by Dwyane Wade, LeBron James or Alonzo Mourning. It's a bold statement, but one that's hard to deny, after Butler went 19-for-28 for 56 points, adding nine rebounds and turning the ball over only once.
And he did it against the Bucks, the team with the best record in the NBA this year. It's the fourth-highest point total in the history of the NBA playoffs, behind only Michael Jordan (63), Elgin Baylor (61) and Donovan Mitchell (57).
Butler wore Jordan's No. 23 in Minnesota and Philadelphia, but wore No. 21 in Chicago and No. 22 in Miami—two teams that have retired Jordan's No. 23.
Butler kept Miami in the game early, scoring 22 points in the first quarter, including 20 straight at one point. The rest of his teammates combined to score six.
While Butler tied the franchise record for points in a quarter in the first, he almost tied it in the fourth, finishing the final quarter with 21 points.
For the game, he shot 67.9% from the floor, while his teammates shot 40.7%. Butler had 15 of the Heat's 20 free throws, and was also the team's top defender.
Butler is averaging 36.5 points for the series, and has three chances to knock off the Bucks. Miami would be the fifth No. 8 seed in NBA history to knock off a No. 1, and the first since the Memphis Grizzlies knocked off the top-seeded Spurs in 2011. After his performance in Game 4, why would anyone expect Butler to stop making history now?
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