Jimmy Butler put the Miami Heat on his back in Game 4 of their series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night, and two Hall of Fame players were in awe of the performance.
Butler scored 56 points in the Heat’s 119-114 win. Miami trailed for much of the game, but Buter made huge bucket after huge bucket every time it looked like the Bucks were going to put his team away.
Reggie Miller, who was calling the game as an analyst for TNT, said toward the end of the game that he believed Butler put together “the greatest playoff performance by any Heat player.”
"This may be the greatest playoff performance by any Heat player."
– Reggie Miller was in AWE of Jimmy Butler
Agree or disagree with Reggie? pic.twitter.com/vIdFAqwcpp
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 25, 2023
As Miller noted, he was putting Butler up against some of the greatest players in NBA history, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal. We could probably go back and find plenty of games where the aforementioned players carried their teams in the postseason, but what Miller said is hardly a stretch.
Charles Barkley made similar comments about Butler’s dominant game. He called it “the best performance I’ve seen on television.” You can see some of Butler’s highlights below:
Charles Barkley on Jimmy Butler's 56-point performance:
"That was the best performance I've seen since I've been on television. It was flat out incredible and an honor and privilege to watch it. That guy was not going to let them lose tonight."pic.twitter.com/wYk1H2WJTe
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 25, 2023
Butler has always had a tendency to take his game to another level in the playoffs, which is something great players do. That trait has even earned him a new nickname, though Butler is not buying into it.
The Heat, who reached the playoffs by way of the play-in tournament, are now one win away from knocking off the No. 1 seed Bucks. Butler’s 36.5 points per game are the primary reason for that.
