Jimmy Butler is known for his competitiveness and his fighting spirit, as well as for his ability to dominate a game whenever his team need him the most. Butler did show all of these in Game 6 win vs Boston, where the Miami Heat forced a Game 7 at home.
In LeBron-esque performance, Butler scored 47 points – a career playoff high and one of the best performances by a player facing elimination in NBA history 10 years after LeBron scored 45 in Game 6 to force a Game 7 en route to Miami’s first title of their back-to-back.
Butler started and finished the game in a great note as he scored 31 of his 47 in the first and the fourth quarter willing the heavily injured Miami to save the season and play their chances for the NBA Finals in front of their faithful fans Sunday night.
“Jimmy just brought his competitive will tonight,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It was a will that would not let us lose.”
Butler appeared more humble in the post-game presser calling his performance a decent one. Butler made history Friday leaving everything on the court putting together one of the best closeout performances ever in the NBA playoffs.
“I think I did decent throughout the game, but everybody else, Vic’s charge at the end, Kyle playing the way he played with his injury. It’s just feels great to get one in the road,” Butler said in the postgame presser.
Butler finished with 47 points after scoring 13, six and eight in the previous three games. He also collected nine rebounds, eight assists, four steals and a block. Miami’s defense and shooting were there, but Butler was the biggest factor for the Heat.
“It’s incredible to have a guy like him next me,” Kyle Lowry said. “I played with some great players and he’s one of the best players I played with”.
The veteran superstar was relentless, shooting 9-of-18 in the paint, a perfect 3-of-3 in the mid-range and got to the line for 11-of-11. He did not steal Boston’s soul like LeBron James 10 years ago but every tough shot he made was building the momentum for the Heat.
In the closest game of the series so far, the Heat found ways to uplift Butler’s game, who was coming off from 6-of-22 shooting in Games 4 and 5. Kyle Lowry also made some huge contributions during the fourth quarter, while PJ Tucker and Max Strus were factors.
The Heat faithful will hope to get one more huge performance from Butler and co. in Game 7 of the series, which is set to take place on Sunday.
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