Jimmy Butler absolutely dominated the Boston Celtics after Grant Williams instigated him midway through the final period. With the forward putting on another heroic performance, the Miami Heat took an early 2-game advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals. After the clash at the TD Garden, Jimmy Buckets revealed to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated what Erik Spoelstra and co.’s 4th quarter strategy was – hand him the rock and let him get to work.
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Seeing a massive jump in his production from the regular season, Butler has been absolutely outstanding in the postseason. Jimmy has been averaging almost 10 more points per game than he did in the regular season. His brilliance has allowed the Florida-based franchise to upset the Bucks, and overcome the Knicks. The Heat are now merely 2 games away from being awarded as the Eastern Conference Champions.
“Give me the ball and move”: Jimmy Butler
Jayson Tatum and co. did a decent job in restricting Jimmy to only 18 points in the first 3 quarters of Game 2. However, as he’s been doing all postseason long, the 6-time All-Star delivered in the clutch.
Amid his altercation with Williams, Butler got the spark he needed. He scored 9 4th quarter points igniting a 23-9 run that resulted in the Heat clinching a 111-105 victory.
Seeming absolutely confident, the 33-year-old even disclosed that Miami’s strategy down the wire was to hand the rock over to him and get out of the way. During Friday’s postgame conference, the swingman stated:
“I think our game plan is kind of simple in the fourth quarter, if I’m being brutally honest,” Butler said. “It’s kind of like, ‘Give me the ball and move,’ and I’m tasked with making the right play. Sometimes I shoot the ball. Most of the times, I shoot the ball. A lot of times, it’s pass to the open guy.”
Throughout his historic postseason run, Butler has been averaging 8.7 points in the 4th quarter on 50% shooting. Allowing him to take control of the game in the clutch seems like a pretty great plan.
The Miami Heat are 2 games away from achieving an impressive feat
Grabbing both wins at the TD Garden, the Heat have a huge advantage as the series shifts to Miami. Being undefeated at the FTX Arena, Jimmy Butler and co. will aim to finish off the series at home.
If the Heat close out this series, they’ll become the first #8 seed team in 24 years to reach the NBA Finals.
The Heat deserve huge props for their commendable work. They went from playing 2 games in the play-in to now, being 2 games away from being in the NBA Finals.
