Jimmy Butler had the performance of his career on Sunday, as he led the Miami Heat to a surprise Game 3 victory against the mighty Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Heat superstar finished with an astounding 40-point, 11-rebound, 13-assist triple-double, which captivated pretty much the entire basketball world.
Personalities around the NBA were all praises for Butler and his career night, with each of them left in awe of the 31-year-old's historic NBA Finals performance:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CF8yk7LnZaM/?igshid=61pasam402b3
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has been vocal about Butler all playoffs:
Inspiring
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 5, 2020
Isaiah Thomas stated the obvious:
Heat made great adjustments oh and Jimmy Butler been hoopin from the start
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) October 5, 2020
Portland Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum was not ashamed to broadcast how Butler proved him wrong on Sunday night:
Damn Jimmy really like that. I thought for sure a 🧹was coming. Bruh really went to work work
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) October 5, 2020
For Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, he's lobbying for Butler repeating a feat achieved by the legendary Jerry West back in 1969, when he won NBA Finals MVP despite being on the losing team:
Jimmy Butler finals MVP? Jerry west style? https://t.co/Mdsk5zC1F4
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) October 5, 2020
Based on what we've seen from Butler in the first three games of the series, we'd have to say that Dinwiddie might have a case here. Then again, after cutting down the series deficit to 2-1, Butler and the Heat are anything but down and out here. There's no denying that the Lakers are still the heavy favorite to win the title, but with the Heat able to overcome adversity on Sunday, they've shown they won't be going down without a fight.
Over the first three games of the NBA Finals, Butler has averaged 29.5 points on 58.0 percent shooting, as well as 7.0 rebounds, 10.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Clearly, Butler has put his team on his broad shoulders, and if Miami is indeed able to mount a shocking upset against a powerhouse L.A. side, then Butler would have undeniably etched his name in NBA Finals history.
There's a lot of work left to do, though, and Butler is hoping to get a bit more help from injured teammates Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic potentially returning to the lineup. We'll see if they actually play again in this series.
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