Butler leads another comeback as Miami Heat open NBA Eastern Conference finals with win

Miami Heat star point guard Jimmy Butler scored numbers never before seen in a playoff game, leading his team to win the first game in the NBA postseason East Finals. The top seeds of the Conference came advanced in the third quarter to beat the Boston Celtics 118-107 at FTX Arena, taking a 1-0 series lead.

Boston was ahead by eight points at halftime, but at the start of the second half, Miami became unstoppable. It had a spectacular 39-14 run to take a 17-point lead and never looked back for the rest of the night. Coach Erik Spoelstra energized his team at halftime, and on the court, it was Jimmy Butler who did the talking.

Y es Jimmy Buckets.... 🤷‍♂️#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Lrlh8bWYSx

— NBA Latam (@NBALatam) May 18, 2022

Boston had no way to defend Butler, who shot 12-of-19 from the field and 17-of-18 from the free-throw line. At the end of the game, Jimmy Butler scored 41 points, including 27 in the second half, to lead the Heat's comeback. 

"Jimmy is an elite competitor," coach Spoelstra assessed in the postgame press conference. "There are a lot of guys in this league who play basketball. He competes to win. It's something totally different, and he does it better than anybody in this league."

Jimmy Butler se une a LeBron James como los únicos jugadores con 40+ puntos, 5+ rebotes, 5+ asistencias, 4+ robos y 3+ tapas en la HISTORIA de los #NBAPlayoffs 😱 pic.twitter.com/h4Z7XAlWVs

— NBA Latam (@NBALatam) May 18, 2022

Butler scored 17 points in the third quarter, single-handedly outscoring the Celtics in those 12 minutes. His squires in Game 1 were Tyler Herro, who scored 18 points, and Gabe Vincent, who added another 17 for the Heat. 

Game 2 of the series will be played again in Miami on Thursday and Boston hopes to get back the injured Marcus Smart and Dominican center Al Horford.