Category: shaq

Jimmy Butler had a memorable Game 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, dropping 56 points in a 119-114 victory over the No. 1 seed.

For a team that’s been around 34 years, the Miami Heat have a rather rich history in the NBA. They’ve won three league titles over the last 17 years, and have a shot at adding to that in this postseason. So, we’ve seen some stellar games out of Heat players over the years even going back to the 1990s before they’d ever even won the Eastern Conference. Now let’s see how Butler’s performance ranks among the top playoff performances in Miami Heat history.

It was hard not to rank this game higher on the list, but nine-block playoff games aren’t quite as rare as you might think. It’s a hell of an accomplishment by far, but it tied Alonzo Mourning for second all-time in the postseason with 10 other occurrences. Hakeem Olajuwon and Dwight Howard both had two playoff games where they blocked nine or more shots. Still, Alonzo Mourning is one of the top two most beloved players in the Heat’s history, along with Dwyane Wade, who you’ll see plenty on this list.

The Killer Crossover was in full effect here as Hardaway had himself a career-defining game bouncing the Knicks in game seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Hardaway scored a postseason career-high 38 points while shooting 60% overall from the field and from 3-point range.

Jimmy Buckets showed up in a big way in this game against the Hawks and decided to take the game over early on, realizing that it had to be on his shoulders. Only three other Heat players scored double-digits, and no one besides Butler scored more than 15 points in the game.

Butler joined some elite Heat company with his game two performance. He became just the third player in franchise history to post a 45-5-5 game in the playoffs, joining Wade and LeBron James. And Butler is the only one to accomplish this while committing zero turnovers. That sideline blow-up involving Butler, Eric Spoelstra, and Udonis Haslem feels like so long ago.

LeBron and the Heat had some battles with the Pacers during his time in Miami. James was just two rebounds short of a 40-20 double-double in this game. Those are Wilt Chamberlain type numbers from a wing player. Oh, and James was also one assist shy of messing with a triple-double. The Pacers actually came into this game with a 2-1 series lead. While Indiana was scrappy, they had no answers for James in this game and lost this series in six games.

In this instant classic thriller of an NBA Finals game, Butler played all but one minute, posting his second triple-double of the series with only seven available players on an already overmatched Heat roster. I can remember watching this game and noting how exhausted Miami looked down the stretch of this game and Jimmy making big play after big play squeaking out a three-point victory to stay alive. I know people frown because this happened in the Orlando bubble, but it was still an outstanding display from Butler and the Heat.

This game in the East semifinals against Brooklyn in 2014 tied James’ second-highest scoring game for his career in the postseason. Dropping 49 on Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett was like icing on the cake for LeBron en route to sending two rivals packing again in six games.

Over the first half of James’ career, I’d guess that he enjoyed beating no team more than Boston and Brooklyn when Pierce and Garnett were there. Garnett was such a great trash talker that you almost couldn’t help but take it personally. So instead of trying to match wits, Bron did the next best thing and kicked their asses whenever he got the chance.

Butler put Miami on his back in game three of the 2020 Finals, as the Heat were in danger of going down 3-0 in the series. Jimmy’s 40-point triple-double was completed on sheer will and refusing to let Miami lose this game. The remarkable thing about Butler’s game that night is that he shot the ball 20 times, and not one was a 3-point attempt. In the age of everybody wanting to be Stephen Curry, Butler dropped 40 and never shot once from that distance.

In the close-out game of the 2006 Finals against Dallas, Wade did a little bit of everything. He posted a 36-point double-double, dished five assists, came up with four steals, and even blocked three shots. That was it. Wade was a made man in South Beach after bringing a title home for the Heat faithful. It felt like the Mavericks had already been demoralized, having dropped three straight heading into Game 6. It was only a matter of time before Wade put them out of their misery.

After lighting up the Eastern Conference in 2022, Jimmy Buckets picks back up where he left off in the ECF against Boston last year. He’s scored at least 30 points in three of the first four games in the first round against Milwaukee this year, highlighted by a 56-point classic in game four. Butler was magnificent in this game as he outdueled Giannis Antetokounmpo, who posted a triple-double.

Butler wouldn’t be denied on this night, as he scored 22 in the first quarter of this game. He scored 20 in a row at one point in that opening period. Because of this historical performance, Jimmy joined an exclusive group posting one of the highest-scoring games in NBA playoff history. The 56 points Butler dropped tied him for fourth, with only Michael Jordan (63), Elgin Baylor (61), and Donovan Mitchell (57) outdoing him. Butler says playoff Jimmy isn’t a thing. It’s time for him to admit that it exists, and it’s a damn good thing.

This series had to be extra sweet for James, sending his nemesis Boston Celtics home in grand fashion. Kevin Garnett took credit for “breaking” James in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals when the Celtics sent the Cavs home in six games.

Game 6 of the ECF in 2012 was an elimination game for the Heat, and LeBron showed out, saving the day, torching Boston’s big three for 45-15-5, keeping the series alive, and setting up a game seven that Miami won convincingly.

Every Wade game from this Finals could probably be on this list, but Wade had his highest scoring output in Game 5 to give Miami a 3-2 lead after digging themselves an 0-2 hole to start the series. This game is remembered mainly for Wade spending nearly half the game at the free-throw line. He attempted 25 foul shots making 21 of them. That ranks as the second most free throws attempted in a Finals game in NBA history. No. 1 in this category is Wade’s former teammate Shaq, setting the record (39) with the Lakers during the 2000 Finals.

The Miami Heat were down 2-0 in the 2006 NBA Finals, and this is where the legend of Dwayne Wade began to take shape. In a must-win, Wade took over, out-scoring and outrebounding running mate Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal came through with 16 points as the second-leading scorer to Wade’s 42 that night. This game began the swing of momentum in that Finals series which became the Heat’s first NBA championship.