The Miami Heat left the Milwaukee Bucks on the verge of elimination tonight thanks to the victory (119-114) —with a comeback included— led by an extraordinary Jimmy Butler, who scored 56 points (22 in the first quarter, 21 in the last and 19 in the last five minutes of the game). The forward achieved the best mark of his career, the fourth most important in NBA playoff history and the highest score in a postseason game since Antetokounmpo did it in the 2021 Finals.
The return of the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo and his triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists was not enough to close the gap and the Bucks, who dominated practically the entire game, are forced to win the next three games to qualify.
The Milwaukee team, which seemed to have controlled the game, let the victory slip away in the final moments. With three minutes to go, the Heat took the lead for the first time on the scoreboard and with a resounding 13-0 run and 19 points from Butler in just five minutes, the Miami franchise made it 3-1 in the series.
The one who also showed his best version was LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers star forced overtime with 0.8 seconds to go and sealed a double-double of 22 points and 20 rebounds, giving his team a 117-111 win against the Memphis Grizzlies to move to 3-1 by ahead in the first round series of the NBA playoffs.
‘King James’ finished with 22 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks for a Lakers who trailed by seven points with five minutes to play in the fourth period and left the team just one win away from the round pass. In addition, LeBron became the first player from the Los Angeles franchise capable of contributing at least 20 points and 20 rebounds since Shaquille O’Neal in 2004 and signed the first game of his career with more than 20 points, 20 rebounds and five assists.
The Grizzlies, led by Desmond Bane (36 points) and Ja Morant (19 points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals), took a lead in the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold it and the game went into overtime. Finally, LeBron sealed the game with a brilliant play with a two-point basket and an added foul for 113-108 with 29.4 to play.
The Spanish Santi Aldama contributed two points, a rebound and two steals in seven minutes on the track.
Thanks to the victory, the Lakers prevailed 3-1 in the series, and are already closer to the pass to the next round where they would face the Sacramento Kings or the Golden State Warriors. To the peace of mind of the Los Angeles franchise, the teams that had this advantage advanced 95% of the time, 258 for only 13 rival comebacks. The fifth game will be played this Wednesday in Memphis.
