Beijing time today (April 27), the 2022-2023 NBA playoffs continue, and the eighth-placed Heat in the East away from home to challenge the Bucks, who are the first and regular season champions in the East. Jimmy Butler contributed 42 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, led the team to a 128-126 overtime victory, the Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, will play the Knicks, the Heat also became the sixth team in NBA history to stage the "Black Eight Miracle", and the Heat completed the "Black Eight Miracle" without the main players Hiro and Oladipo. In the playoff G1 game against the Bucks, Hiro fractured his middle and ring fingers in his right hand and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. In the playoff G3 game against the Bucks, Oladipo suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, which was reimbursed for the season.
The NBA's previous five "Black Eight Miracles" were: the Nuggets' 3-2 first-round victory over the SuperSonics in 1994, the Knicks defeated the Heat 3-2 in the first round in 1999, the Warriors eliminated the Mavericks 4-2 in the first round in 2007, the Grizzlies defeated the Spurs 4-2 in the first round in 2011, and the 76ers defeated the Bulls 4-2 in the first round in 2012.
Heat players celebrate passionately according to Visual China
Butler scored 40+ for the eighth time in his playoff career
Surpass Wade to be the first in team history
The Heat can stage the "Black Eight Miracle", the main Butler undoubtedly has to make a contribution, he contributed 42 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in this game, has cut 40+ in two consecutive games, the last game was like a god, scored 56 points, and he did not cut 40+ games in the regular season this season, so he was ridiculed by fans as the "playoff version of Butler". According to statistics, this is the eighth time Butler has cut 40+ in his playoff career, surpassing Wade (7 times) to occupy the first place in team history.
In the final moments of the fourth quarter, Butler scored a difficult tie
Butler played in five games in the opening series, averaging 37.2 minutes per game, 37.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.4 turnovers. He shot 59.7 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three-point range and 2.4 three-pointers per game and 70.8 percent from the free-throw line. According to statistics from data media Beate, Butler can average 10.5 points per game in key moments (when the difference between the last five minutes of the game is less than five points), shooting 50% from three-point range, 40% from three-point range, 87.5% from free throws, and +9.5 in key moments.
Butler leads the team to victory according to Visual China
After the game, Butler spoke to the media and said: "We were tough and we didn't give up even though we were trailing in the last quarter. Throughout the series, we were behind a lot of times, but we came together and scored the goals we deserved. My teammates need me and need me to put in a performance like this, so there's no 'playoff version Butler' and I'll always do that." Whatever I need to do, as long as I can help the team win, if I get 40, 50 or 0 points and 12 assists, I am confident that I can do it. Talking about what he plans to do on the next day off, Butler laughs and says: "I'm going to stay with my daughter, I'm going to be with her, I love her very much, I'm going to buy her ice cream to eat, accompany her to the park for a walk." ”
Alphabet brother got emotional after the game:
Jordan 15 years 6 titles, the other 9 years are failures?
In this game, Alphabet Brother Antetokounmpo cut 38 points, 20 rebounds and 3 assists, Middleton scored 33 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, but still unable to recover, at the same time, Alphabet Brother also became the fourth regular season MVP player to be "black eight" after Nowitzki, Duncan and Ross, and the Bucks also became the only "black eight" team in NBA history to win only one game.
Alphabet brother is very lost according to Visual China
In an interview after the game, Alphabet said about whether he wanted to defend Butler more in this series, saying: "Yes, out of respect you have to let the coach make adjustments. We let the team's best defender (Holladay) defend him. I talked to Holladay, and if he was tired, he would change me to guard against it. He was so willing to compete, he played so hard and wanted to take on the challenge. But in the end, if only I could defend Butler more. Maybe we could have wrapped him up and forced him to pass. Maybe we could have switched defenses for two or three minutes and let Holladay catch his breath. I think as far as the team is concerned, we didn't make the right defensive adjustments against the Heat, we didn't adjust as much as we could. ”
Speaking about whether the Bucks have failed this season, Alphabet Brother is emotional, "You asked me that question last year. Do you get promoted every year? So is your job a failure? Jordan played for 15 years, only 6 titles, and the other 9 years were failures? The Bucks didn't have a championship in 50 years from 1971 to 2021, and our 50 years were all failures? ”
Alphabet Brother is interviewed after the game
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