By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
It’s that time of the year again when Jimmy Butler goes beast mode.
In a crucial Game 4 in front of the thousand home fans in attendance at Kaseya Center, Jimmy Butler’s playoff god mode was once again reactivated after leading the Miami Heat to a 119-114 win to take a 3-1 series lead against the Milwaukee Bucks last April 25, 2023.
Butler exploded for 56 big points built from a jaw-dropping 19/28 shooting from the field including nine rebounds, two assists, and one block to spoil the return of Giannis Antetokounmpo after missing the last two games due to a back contusion injury.
Miami’s superstar main gunner wasted no time after immediately helping the Heat get back into the game when the Bucks rolled to an early double-digit lead in the opening quarter.
With eight minutes left in the game, Milwaukee looked to be in full control of the pace after protecting their 13-point lead, 98-85.
However, Butler’s wizardry once again happened.
Soon as Butler checked back in the game and Miami trailing by 11 points, 98-87, the do-it-all superstar carried the whole Heat in his back after scoring seven-straight points to put them back within striking distance.
Caleb Martin, Miami’s two-way guard, then put the whole home crowd to their feet after drilling a clutch jumper with 3:39 left of the nip-and-tuck affair, to get within a point, 101-100.
The Heat then officially retook the lead after a defensive stop by Kyle Lowry which led to a Butler two-handed jam, 102-101, that capped off an insane 16-4 run in just four minutes.
Needing a bucket to spark the Bucks, former Most Valuable Player (MVP) Antetokounmpo converted a foul-counted layup that put them back at top, 104-102, but Martin answered back with a cold-blooded trey for another lead change in favor of the Heat, 105-104, with 2:46 remaining in the game.
The game then turned into a back-and-forth affair as Jrue Holiday sank a step-back trey for a 107-105 lead but Butler got fouled on the other end and went 2/2 from the charity stripe to deadlock the game again at 107-all.
Lopez came right back with a jam for the lead in a pick-and-roll play with Antetokounmpo, 109-107, but Butler converted back-to-back treys in just 22 seconds to balloon the Heat’s lead to four points, 113-109.
Miami then officially clinched Game 4 after Butler and Bam Adebayo hit four-straight much-needed free throws with 32.7 seconds left in the game.
The Bucks got a dominant triple-double from Antetokounmpo with 26 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds but was still not enough to help Milwaukee avoid a 1-3 hole.
Miami will have the chance to finish the series when they square off again with the Bucks on April 27, 2023, in an expected hostile crowd at the Fiserv Forum.
