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Jimmy Butler set a new playoff scoring record for the Miami Heat in the team’s 119-114 Game 4 win over the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks, almost single-handedly preventing the series from getting tied at 2-2. Instead, eighth seed Miami took a commanding 3-1 lead on the shoulders of Butler’s heroics.
With 5:16 remaining, the Heat were down 101-93. Then, Butler took over, scoring 19 points before the clock hit zero. The veteran forward finished with 56 points, a team-high nine rebounds and two assists.
Overall, Butler hit 19 of his 28 shot attempts and went 15-of-18 from the free throw line. Miami was out-scored in the paint 54-40 in its Game 4 win, but that didn’t matter to Butler, who set Twitter afire with his performance and carried his team to victory anyway.
The Heat star also left an impression on his opponents, particularly Bucks center Brook Lopez, who spoke in glowing terms about Butler after the game.
Brook Lopez on Jimmy Butler: ‘Not Much’ Could Be Done to Stop Him
Lopez, who led Milwaukee in scoring with 36 points in Game 4, had nothing but respect for Butler after the game.
“He obviously played great,” Lopez said, via The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski. “He’s been great all series long. He’s been aggressive. He’s just been knocking down shots, shooting the three extremely well. There hasn’t been a thing that the hasn’t been doing. It’s a tough draw but we just gotta keep getting better, keep making life tough for him, one game at a time.”
Lopez also noted Milwaukee couldn’t really contain “Playoff Jimmy” no matter what defense the team incorporated.
“I think he was playing his game,” the Bucks big man added. “He hit big shots, got to the line, especially toward the end. He made some good plays. Jimmy just being Jimmy. I just feel like he was playing, you know? Sometimes you catch fire, you get into a rhythm and not much can be done. He played a really good game.”
Jimmy Butler Currently Leads NBA Playoffs in Scoring
After his Game 4 performance, Butler stands atop the NBA postseason scoring standings, netting 36.5 points a game. His 56-point outburst ranks fourth all-time in postseason history behind Michael Jordan (63 points, 1986), Elgin Baylor (61 points, 1962) and Donovan Mitchell (57 points, 2020).
“When he gets in that zone, he’s just such a killer,” Heat forward Kevin Love said about Butler, via ESPN. “Lions like to hunt, man. They make their kill, and they keep hunting. That’s what he does. He’s got a huge heart. He wants to see us win. He doesn’t want to make it about him; he just wants to go out there and get the job done.”
“I don’t think Jimmy would want me up here ranking this performance or anything,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra told ESPN. “He’s not relaxing. He understands what we still have to do, and he understands who we’re facing. We still have to find a way to get the job done.”
As it stands, Miami needs just one more win to seal the biggest upset in the playoffs thus far. We’ll see if Butler’s teammates can step up alongside him to make that happen.
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