Jimmy Butler’s Monster Game 3 Cuts Lakers Lead to 2-1

Jimmy Butler in 2019. Photo by Simon Galloway/Sutton Images/Shutterstock (10299483d)

Great players show up when their teams need them most. And that’s exactly what Miami’s Jimmy Butler did against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the NBA finals.

The Heat was not only down 2-0 in the series but was also missing Goran Drazic and Bam Adebayo, two of their most important starters. But in Game 3, all they needed was a brilliant performance from Butler, who recorded a triple-double with 40 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds.

Butler has shown during these playoffs that he plays best when his team’s back is up against the wall. Down 2-0 in the finals was the perfect time for him to prove it again, lifting the underdog Heat and leading them to the near-perfect game they needed to take a game from the star-studded Lakers, led by Lebron James and Anthony Davis.

The Heat won 115-104, avoiding the sweep and giving the team a renewed sense of confidence.

Butler played an incredibly physical game that saw him scoring almost all of his points from the interior. He was able to score 40 points without attempting a single three-pointer and shooting only two shots all night from beyond 15 feet.

Miami still isn’t sure whether they will have Dragic or Adebayo back for Game 4 on Tuesday, but if Butler keeps playing the way he did in Game 3, they might not even need them to tie up the series at two games apiece.