NEW JERSEY — This is why they call him “Jimmy Buckets.”
And this is also why he is a six-time NBA All-Star playing on a max contract that pays him $36 million this season.
Jimmy Butler registered 41 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks to lead the Heat to a come-from-behind 118-107 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference showdown at a sold-out FTX Arena in downtown Miami on Tuesday.
Butler sizzled with 12 of 19 shooting from the field and 17-of-18 from the free throw stripe.
“Jimmy Butler is an elite competitor. He’s competing to win. That’s a totally different thing and he does that as well as anybody in this league,” Heat coach Erik Speolstra told reporters after his team took a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven affair.
After trailing 62-54 at the half, the Heat, powered by two Butler steals that led to easy lay-ups early in the period, went on a blistering 38-14 third-quarter run to turn the tide against the stunned Celtics.
Three other Heat starters finished with double figured in points, compounding the woes of Boston, which played withiut Al Horford and Marcus Smart.
Gabe Vincent fired 17 points and three asissts while Max Strus added 11 on the strength of three treys. All-Star center Bam Adebayo chipped in 10 points and four rebounds.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 29 while Jaylen Brown added 22.
