Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are headed to the Eastern Conference Semifinals after an historic upset over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Miami found itself up three games to one heading into Game 5 in Milwaukee Wednesday night. For a while, it looked like the Bucks were going to send this back to South Beach for a sixth game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks found themselves up 16 after three quarters and ahead by eight with just over three minutes remaining despite going ice cold in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Jimmy Buckets did his thing. Fresh off a franchise record 56-point performance in Game 4, Butler put up 12 points in the final 4:01 of the fourth quarter.
With just two seconds left in the game and the Bucks down two points, Gabe Vincent inbounded the ball to Butler near the rim. What followed was absolute mayhem inside Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Himmy Butler. He is him. Whatever way we want to explain that shot, just let us do it.
How in the world did Jimmy Butler make this shot? It wasn’t even of the circus variety. It was otherworldly in every definition of the term.
This ridiculous shot sent the game into overtime tied at 118. While Butler only scored two points in the extra stanza, the likes of Max Strus and Bam Adebayo came up absolutely big.
Taking advantage of mistakes and ice-cold shooting on the part of the favored Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat yielded only 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Heat outscored them by 18 during that span.
Jimmy Butler stats (Game 5): 42 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 17-of-33 shooting
It might not have been the most efficient night of shooting for Butler, but he made key play after key play when they had to be made. The same thing can’t be said for two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who shot a mere 10-of-23 from the free-throw line as Milwaukee choked away a sure win.
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat pulling off epic upset
Butler finished the series averaging 37.6 points per game. He was absolutely on one in putting up an historic performance against the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Butler became the first player in Miami Heat playoff history to record back-to-back 40-point games. Here is a franchise that has housed all-time greats such as Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James. Those watching this game from home were left in awe of what we saw as Miami became the sixth No. 8 seed to defeat a top seed in NBA Playoff history.
After finding a way through the NBA Play-In Tournament, Butler and the Heat now advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals to take on the New York Knicks. It’s a matchup of two old rivals, one that most did not expect heading into the playoffs.
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