ORLANDO — The Butler did it again.
Trailing by 12 points in the final 6:09 of the fourth quarter,101-89, the Miami Heat leaned on their superstar leader to bail them out.
And Jimmy Butler was happy to oblige.
The 6-foot-7, 230-pound all-purpose guard exploded for 56 points to lead the eight-seeded Heat to a gritty 119-114 Game 4 victory over the No.1 seed Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night at the Kaseya Center.
In perhaps the best game of his decorated NBA career, Butler connected on 19 of 28 shots and also manufactured nine rebounds and a pair of assists to give Miami a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-7 opening-round series.
It was a stunning, disappointing defeat for the Bucks who led for the most part and entered the fourth quarter with an 11-point cushion. Obviously, the advantage couldn’t hold off Butler’s rampage.
“We knew what we were capable of, even if nobody outside of this building, outside of this roster, and outside of this organization believed in us,” Butler told reporters while referring to their heavy underdog status. “We just want to continue to do what we know is possible.”
And though Butler’s performance seemed like a one-man army, he actually had a cavalry behind him.
Bam Abedayo had 15 points and eight rebounds and Gabe Vincent, who struggled with just 4-of-13 shooting from the field, ran the offense with fantastic ease to finish with 10 points and eight dimes. Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson combined for 20 points off the bench.
Miami’s dramatic come-from-behind win, one that was capped by a game-ending 30-13 run, negated a 36-point performance from Bucks center Brook Lopez.
“We didn’t make plays on either end. And they did,” said Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer as his team heads back to Milwaukee needing to win Game 5 at the Fiserv Forum on Wednesday (Thursday morning RP time) and avoid being knocked out early.
After missing two games with a bruised back, Giannis Antetokounmpo came back to action and scored a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. But the effort fell short in the welter of Miami’s fourth quarter barrage.
