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Jimmy Butler reminded basketball fans that he almost always steps up when the lights are brightest. Butler led his team to a come-from-behind win against the Chicago Bulls to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Following the Miami Heat forward’s clutch performance, fans quickly reacted:
"Run and dunk man scared"
Jimmy Butler played a game-high 43 minutes and finished with 31 points. His emphatic layup with 2:17 left in the fourth quarter gave the Miami Heat a 91-90 lead. A free throw later and the Heat had a two-point advantage they would not give up the rest of the way.
A few days after rallying from a 19-point deficit to win against the Toronto Raptors, the Chicago Bulls couldn't close this game out. Miami's crippling 15-1 run pushed the Heat to a 102-91 win.
Jimmy Butler was at the center of Miami's game-changing run. When he wasn't scoring, he was forcing the Bulls' defense to keep their eyes on him, giving his teammates a little more room to operate.
"Jimmy Buckets" has been known to raise his game to a different level when the stakes are highest. He was the biggest reason why they nearly eliminated the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals last season.
Like the last playoffs, it seems like only his balky knees could prevent him from having another dominant postseason run.
After losing to the Celtics, Jimmy Butler vowed to return. His brave words seemed doomed by the way they have been playing throughout the season and in their recent loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Jimmy Butler received a ton of help from Max Struss tonight. Miami's starting shooting guard also dropped 31 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including a blistering 7-for-12 from behind the arc.
Miami expects to be competitive against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks if they can give Butler the support he needs.
Jimmy Butler made sure to recognize Bam Adebayo's crucial performance against the Chicago Bulls
Bam Adebayo played 37 minutes and finished with 17 rebounds, eight points, four assists, one steal and a block. The Miami Heat center had a rough shooting night, hitting just 1 of 9 field-goal attempts.
"The reason why I really love Bam [Adebayo] tonight is because even though you don't make shots, you can affect the game in so many ways. That is the definition of a star player.
"I hope he makes every shot on Sunday but if he doesn't and he has another game like this, it'll be the reason we win."
The All-Star big man's offense couldn't get going, but he turned it up on defense. He made a couple of huge defensive plays and secured a few crucial rebounds in the final minutes of the game.
Max Strus played his best game of the season tonight. Without him, the Miami Heat may have been eliminated after reaching the conference finals last season.
Bam Adebayo was terrific on defense but he will need to be more productive on the offensive end against the Milwaukee Bucks.
You may also want to read: Jimmy Butler gives an honest review of his health this season
