As did we,' Butler said. 'But it was a hard-fought game, I think it's going to be even harder for us next game, but I like our chances.'Įvery bit the alpha dog that LeBron was as he hit clutch shots over Anthony Davis and drove to the basket without abandon, Butler went to the free throw line 12 times and hit all 12 of his free throws. 'I mean, I'm sure they wanted to win, thought they was going to win coming into it. But Danny Green's potential game-winning straight-away 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds to go came up short, Markieff Morris turned the ball over after grabbing the offensive rebound, and instead of the Lakers raising the Larry O'Brien Trophy, we get to revel in Butler pulling off the ridiculous. The King went for 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting, including 6-of-9 from deep, adding 13 boards and 7 assists, as he led the Lakers to within one shot of sealing the franchise's 17th championship. If the Lakers had won, it obviously would have been LeBron's night and we would have appropriately showered him in all kinds of flowery praise because he was phenomenal. The Heat rode Butler Friday-just like it did in Game 3 Sunday-and won a dramatic contest despite James having one of the greatest games of his illustrious Finals history. Listen, if Miami can get one more great game out of Butler, and his supporting cast can step up like it did Friday, then this series could shockingly be headed to a winner-take-all Game 7 when it looked like it would be a cakewalk for the Lakers a few days ago.

'I left it all out there on the floor along with my guys, and that's how we're going to have to play from here on out,' Butler said. 'Like I always say, it's win or win for us. LA still leads the series, 3-2, but Butler balling like a madman yet again means we need to take Miami much more seriously. Just about every NBA observer thought the Lakers would take care of business and put a cap on the bubble. But Butler willed Miami past Los Angeles, 111-108, in the most stressful, exhausting, competitive, and intense contest of these Finals.

So just when we all thought the NBA Finals were about to be wrapped up for James and his Lakers, we got another scintillating performance outta Jimmy to remind us of his excellence and the fallacy of making assumptions in the craziest of NBA seasons.įacing elimination Friday, the Heat managed to survive to see at least Game 6 thanks to Butler's second monster game of the series that saw him pour in 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting across 47 draining minutes. But Jimmy Butler, the man who loves cowboy boots, country music, and sells coffee for $20 a cup out of his hotel room down at Disney World, has never cared much for popular narratives. LeBron James isn’t supposed to lose close out games.

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