On April 20, Beijing time, the Heat beat the Eagles 115-105 and led 2-0 in the series. Butler played a playoff career masterpiece in this game, he shot 15 of 25, 4 of 7 three-pointers, 11 of 12 from the free throw line, and had 45 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, without turnovers and fouls. Butler exploded with multiple records in this battle.
1. Butler's 45 points set a new career high in the playoffs.
2. Butler became the third player in Heat history to cut 45+ in a single game in the playoffs, the first two players being James (2 times) and Wade (1 time).
3. This is the second time in the Butler Heat's career playoffs that he has at least 40 points, 5 boards and 5 assists in a single game, tying James and Wade and ranking first in team history.
4. Butler is the fifth player since 1978 to score at least 45 points in the playoffs with zero turnovers. The other four are Wilkins, Pierce, Durant and Jamal Murray.
5. Butler became the second player in history after Wilkins to score at least 45 points, 0 turnovers and 0 fouls in the playoffs.
6. Butler became the first player in history to score at least 45 points, 5 boards and 5 assists in a single game in the playoffs with 0 turnovers and 0 fouls.
In this battle, Butler actually shot 7 three-pointers, which was a relatively rare thing before. After the game, Butler was asked by reporters about the topic of shooting more three-pointers.
According to statistics, this is the first time this season that Butler has shot at least four three-pointers in a game, and the last time he did such a performance was on May 13, 2021, when he shot four three-pointers against the 76ers.
Butler said: "I just played and didn't even realise I was shooting three-pointers, I trained a lot with Chris Brickley [the trainer] and he always made me understand that I should shoot more three-pointers. ”
Butler's fiery performance sparked praise, with coach Spollstra saying: "That's the performance of an elite-level attack-defense player, he showed his ability tonight at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, I think he's very confident and decisive in making decisions on the pitch, and we really need him to have that in the second half." ”
Coach also talked about Butler's three-point shooting, saying: "It's a good comparison... If you were on the other side, would you give Wade a chance to shoot a three-point shot? You won't, Butler is a lot like Wade. ”
Butler must not be allowed to shoot empty three-pointers, although his three-point shots are usually relatively small.