Jimmy Butler's historic performance lifts Heat over Celtics in Game 1 of ECF

The Miami Heat walked into TD Garden and took Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday, thanks to another massive outing from who else -- Jimmy Butler. 

As he has virtually the entire postseason during the eighth-seeded Heat's remarkable run, Butler willed Miami to a 123-116 victory, finishing with 35 points, seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. 

Butler became only the fifth player in NBA history to record multiple career 30-point, five-rebound, five-assist, five-steal games in the playoffs, joining Michael Jordan (8), Allen Iverson (3), Russell Westbrook (3) and Rick Barry (2), per The Athletic. 

After the Heat's Game 1 win, head coach Erik Spoelstra said there was no measurable way to judge Butler's impact not only on the game itself but his teammates and how they perform.

"There's no analytic to it," Spoelstra said via NBA TV. "Just the feeling of stability in the locker room, even when you're down early nine in the first half when we played poorly - there's just a settling effect, it's impossible to quantify." 

While Wednesday's dazzling performance surely impressed Spoelstra, Butler was not satisfied even after helping the Heat win their third-straight Game 1 on the road during this postseason. 

"That's not enough for us, and we want to get another one in two days," Butler said via the NBA.

Miami trailed Boston 66-57 at halftime, but Butler and company rallied in the second half, exploding for 46 third-quarter points to gain the lead, 103-91, heading into the final stanza. 

With around a minute to go, the Celtics had cut the deficit to seven, but Butler nailed a deep three-pointer, sealing the victory.