As they have always seemingly done over the last few years, the Miami Heat have overcome their doubters once again and defeated a more talented team in the NBA playoffs.
They took the first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals from the Boston Celtics, and after losing the following three contests, many were counting them out for Game 7 in Boston.
But the Heat continually built a big lead in Game 7 and sent the men in green home for the summer with a 103-84 triumph.
Now they will face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, which will give Jimmy Butler the opportunity to finish as the league’s top scorer this postseason.
He currently trails Celtics star Jayson Tatum by 59 points.
Most points this playoffs:
543 — Jayson Tatum
484 — Jimmy Butler
453 — Jaylen Brown
449 — Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/CDJ8Xr6TsF— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 30, 2023
Butler may not be a true superstar, but in crunch time, he takes over as well as anyone in the league, to the point where he has drawn comparisons to late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Game 7 wasn’t an efficient game for him, but he still managed to lead everyone in scoring with 28 points.
In Game 1, he poured in 35 points to lead Miami to a surprising 123-116 win that seemed to set the tone for the series.
Miami will have their hands full in the championship series going up against center Nikola Jokic, a two-time MVP, not to mention Jamal Murray, who, like Butler, turns things up a couple of notches in big games.
A big problem for the Heat will be their lack of frontcourt size, but their grit and resolve, not to mention Butler’s exploits, mean they will have a real shot at winning it all.
NEXT: Jimmy Butler Makes A Strong Statement About Caleb Martin
