We've known about "Playoff Jimmy Butler" for years. But with his team down 10 with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter on Monday, he introduced us to "Spoiler Jimmy Butler."
The Miami Heat are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks won more games than anyone else in the regular season. After Butler went positively berserk in both the first and fourth quarters of Game 4, Miami is up 3-1.
Miami's 119-114 victory was more than spurred by Butler's 56 points on 19-of-28 shooting. It was willed. It was conjured out of nothing.
The Heat were seemingly chilled. Milwaukee was poised to tie the series and retake control with Giannis Antetokounmpo back in the lineup after missing two games with a back injury. In the fourth quarter, the Bucks' win probability peaked at 98.3 percent.
Butler was the other 1.7.
Over the last 5:36 of the fourth, Butler went for 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He was 8-of-9 from the line. He rocked the rim with a dunk and hit a crucial pull-up jumper, both of which sent reverberations through Butler, the Kaseya Center and TV screens all over the world.
NBA on TNT @NBAonTNTMIAMI TAKES THE LEAD <a href="https://t.co/HhFxnQX7oN">pic.twitter.com/HhFxnQX7oN</a>
NBA on TNT @NBAonTNTJIMMY BUTLER 😤 <a href="https://t.co/Pz5cwhWHVy">pic.twitter.com/Pz5cwhWHVy</a>
His 56 points represent a new postseason franchise record for the Heat and are tied for the fourth most ever scored in a playoff game. Only Michael Jordan (63), Elgin Baylor (61) and Donovan Mitchell (57) have had more on the game's brighter stage.
And that stretch in the fourth quarter wasn't even Butler's only all-out takeover against the top overall seed in the playoffs. He played all 12 minutes of the first quarter, scored 22 points and went 9-of-10 from the field in that frame.
In a game when Giannis had a 26-point triple-double, Butler was undoubtedly the best player on the floor. And his ability to seize Giannis' "best player in the series" mantle has the Bucks on the ropes.
After Miami's win, FiveThirtyEight's projection system gives it an 81 percent chance to advance to the next round. The Heat now have three chances to win one game, including one more chance at home.
If they take out Giannis and the betting favorite to win the title when the postseason started, the East (and really the entire playoff picture) will suddenly feel wide open.
One month after one of the wilder March Madness runs we've ever seen, Butler looks poised to introduce a similar kind of chaos to the pro ranks.
If it happens, Miami certainly wouldn't be satisfied, either.
Butler and Bam Adebayo, who had 15 points, eight rebounds and some crucial late defensive stands against Giannis, made it to the Finals in 2020. They were in the Conference Finals last year.
There's plenty of history to juice the competition for a potential second-round series with the New York Knicks. They split the season series with the Boston Celtics, the current betting favorite to win it all, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Looking ahead is dangerous, but that's exactly what Butler is forcing us to do.
Add this to the list of outrageous playoff performances from an increasingly legendary player.
- 2022 Eastern Conference Finals vs. BOS, Game 6: 47 PTS, 9 REB, 8 AST, 4 STL
- 2020 NBA Finals vs. LAL, Game 3: 40 PTS, 13 AST, 11 REB, 2 STL, 2 BLK
- 2022 Eastern Conference Finals vs. BOS, Game 1: 41 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL, 3 BLK
- 2020 NBA Finals vs. LAL, Game 5: 35 PTS, 12 REB, 11 AST, 5 STL
- 2022 Eastern Conference First Round vs. ATL, Game 2: 45 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL
That's not exhaustive, and all of those performances have come in the last three years. If Miami advances, it'll probably be an underdog again. But history tells us Butler probably isn't done making magic. It tells us he can flip a series against just about anyone. It tells us he can smash expectations to make a Finals run, as he did in the bubble.
And the competitive fire that explodes from him after runs like Monday's shows he wants to get back.
Right now, Miami is one of eight teams with at least a four percent chance to win it all, according to FiveThirtyEight. Those are long odds, but Butler looks more than comfortable playing spoiler.
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