MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler insists Playoff Jimmy — the nickname he now owns, whether he wants it or not — is nothing.
His play shows otherwise.
He’s scored 45 or more points five times in his NBA career, and three of those games have come in the playoffs — the latest on Monday in his all-time performance. Butler scored 56 points, Tied for the fourth-highest scoring effort in NBA history, the Miami Heat held the Milwaukee Bucks 119-114 to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
“I think that’s where the best players show up and show,” Butler said. “And I’m not saying I’m one of the best players. I just want to be looked at like that.”
It’s hard to imagine anyone not looking at him that way, especially right now.
He had 22 points in the first quarter on Monday, and another 21 in the fourth quarter. Over the past quarter-century, no one has had two 20-point quarters in the same playoff game and only one player — Damian Lillard, in his 71-point game with Portland — has done so during this regular season.
Butler was 9-for-10 in the first quarter, and 6-for-8 in the fourth. And this came against a Milwaukee team that includes three players — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brock Lopez and Gro Holiday — who are rightfully considered to be among the best defensemen in the NBA.
It doesn’t matter. Playoff Jimmy was not a match.
“I haven’t been here very long, but I’ve always had a lot of respect for him,” said Heat forward Kevin Love, who signed with Miami in February. “I love his game, I love what he’s about. I mean, I hate to say arguably, but I think he’s the closest in the game. And I saw why.”
The only players to score more in a playoff game were Michael Jordan with 63 in 1986, Elgin Baylor with 61 in 1962, and Donovan Mitchell with 57 in 2020. Butler became fourth with 56 points, joining Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley. The previous Heat playoff record for points in a game was 49, set by LeBron James.
“I think we’re seeing a guy who’s still in his prime and playing at a level of basketball that not many players can match,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said. “And you have to sit down sometimes and appreciate that.”
For Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, what Butler did Monday night—Miami trailed nearly the entire game and trailed 14 times in the fourth quarter—were reminiscent of other key moments in playoff lore.
Like James who scored 45 in a must-win Game 6 on the road in Boston in 2012. Like Butler wants Miami to get to the NBA Finals on the bubble in 2020. Like Dwyane Wade who took over in Game 3 of the Finals In 2006, the NBA erased a double-digit deficit after infamously declaring “I wouldn’t go out that way” at the huddle and the Heat started on their way to beating Dallas in six games for their first championship.
“I don’t think Jimmy would want me to be here arranging this performance or anything,” said Spoelstra. “He sees everything as a coach does. He doesn’t rest. He understands what we still have to do, and he understands who we’re up against.”
The Dollars are in trouble, but they are far from dead. Game 5 is in their building, and if they bring it back to Miami and win Game 6 — unimaginable, since they drove on home ground for the Heat for much of Monday night — they’d also have the home field advantage in Game 7.
Butler knows all this, and that was his message after scoring 56 goals.
“It’s not getting the job done, so we don’t want to feel uncomfortable,” Butler said. “We have another one to get.”
He leads the playoffs in scoring so far at 36.5 points per game, 63% shooting so far in the series, helped the Heat overcome losses to injured shooting guards Tyler Hero and Victor Oladipo, and simply rallied Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in Game 4.
Playoff legend Jimmy continued to grow.
‘It’s nothing.’ insisted Butler. ‘I’m just hemming.’
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