The Miami Heat were the biggest of underdogs on Sunday night in Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks. An injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo and some gritty team play led the way toward a 130-117 win, but it was Jimmy Butler who ultimately ran the show.
Butler looked to be in playoff form right off the bat, finishing with 35 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists plus 3 steals on the defensive end. His scoring total makes 10 career playoff games of 35 or more in a Heat uniform, a feat only ever accomplished by Dwyane Wade, and breaks a tie with LeBron James in franchise history.
Playoff Jimmy today:
35 PTS
5 REB
11 AST
3 STLJoins Dwyane Wade as the only Heat with double-digit 35-point playoff games. pic.twitter.com/5CycMMolvj
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 17, 2023
D-Wade tallied 14 such games which gives him the top spot in franchise history, but he did take 171 playoff appearances to get there. Scoring may have spiked over the past decade, but Jimmy Butler getting to 10 after just 43 total playoff games for the Heat is might impressive in any era. LeBron had 9 such games in his 2011-2014 playoff runs for the Heat, needing 87 total games to get to his total.
It's undeniable at this point how prepared for the moment Butler is. He led the Heat to an NBA Finals appearance in his first season with the team and was a made three-pointer away from doing it again last season.
With the injury news to Tyler Herro, he'll have to take on an even larger load for the Heat the rest of the way. Toppling the Bucks, with or without Giannis Antetokounmpo, is no small task. Jimmy Butler's going to give it all he's got regardless.
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