The Miami Heat are looking to complete the job they left unfinished in the bubble. Winning an NBA title. The former Eastern Conference champions played the first game of the ECF against the Boston Celtics. They’ve taken a 1-0 series lead on the back of Jimmy Butler and his record-breaking performance.
Miami has been keeping true to its standing as the number 1 seed in the east with its dominant showing in the NBA playoffs. They did not seem to have any problem with the Hawks and the Sixers and now see themselves doing well against the Celtics as well. They continue to look to be favorites of the East.
Jimmy Butler puts on a show in Game 1
The Boston Celtics switched their entire season around after the all-star break. They swept the star-studded Brooklyn Nets and then beat the reigning NBA champions in Milwaukee. Their road to the finals was already tough but is at its peak against the best team in the Eastern Conference.
Boston started off the game hot and was leading by 8 points going into the half. But in the 3rd quarter, they choked. Miami outscored them 39-14 and put them in a ditch they could not climb out of. Even though Boston outscored the Heat in 3 of the 4 quarters but still went on to lose the game by 11 points.
Tatum and Brown combined for 53 points in a losing effort. And it came at the hands of a record-breaking performance from Jimmy Butler.
Jimmy put up a stat line of 41 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks on 63% shooting from the field. What made this more impressive was that he did this without making a single 3. He finished with a game-high +/- of +25. You get why he’s nicknamed Jimmy G Buckets. Because Jimmy gets buckets.
This performance was a new playoff record. He became the first player in NBA playoff history to reach those numbers since 1974.
Jimmy Butler makes some NBA playoffs history. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/rfsG9XO7bQ
— theScore (@theScore) May 18, 2022
The Miami Heat were able to protect the home court in game 1 and now look to do the same in game 2. Will the Miami Heat make easy work of the Boston Celtics on their way to the finals?
