Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat survive TD Garden to force a Game 7

Jimmy G Buckets, the G stands for gets! My goodness what a legendary performance we were just gifted by our superstar Jimmy Butler lead his team to a 111-103 Game 6 victory to tie the series 3-3 and force a Game 7 in Miami. Absolutely no one gave the Miami Heat a chance to win this game in Boston. From the national media, Draymond Green and everyone outside the city of Miami they counted the Heat out. Honestly, after the performances we saw from this team in games 4 & 5, I can’t blame them. Everyone was looking injured or ineffective and the injury to Tyler Herro, who was out Game 6 as well, just added to the doubt. However, as our favorite team has shown time and time again this season, they overcome adversity and dig deep to pull this one out in front of a hostile Boston crowd.

This game was close from the very beginning as the biggest lead was just 13 points by the Heat in the third quarter and it shrunk quickly after a run from Boston. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time as I’m sure you all were. The Heat gave up the lead a few times, but were always able to take it right back, but when Derrick White hit a wide open three in the corner to make it 97-94 with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter it started to look a lot like Games 4 & 5. Jimmy and the Miami Heat would not allow that to happen again as they would respond and outscore the Celtics 17-6 the rest of the way.

Now a lot of what people were (me included) saying was that we would need 2012 LeBron James in this game. Well we got something even better. Elimination game Jimmy Butler was an absolute monster with a playoff career high 47 points on 16-of-29 shooting to go with nine rebounds, eight assists, four steals and a block. He set the franchise playoff record for points in an elimination game. He answered the call and put his team on his back and lead them to this victory. He got to his spots much easier than in the last two games and his three point shot was falling as he hit four of them tonight! There just not enough that could be said about what this man has been doing for this organization.

Flowers also have to be given to Kyle Lowry. I will admit that I was out on him after Game 5 and I thought he wasn’t going to be able to play in Game 6 after seeing him limping off the team bus on social media. However, he too answered the prayers of every Heat fan and left it all out on the floor turning in his best performance of the playoffs with 18 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, a steal and a block, plus he played incredible defense all night before fouling out with just over two minutes remaining. Just a warrior performance from our veteran point guard and it’s the one we’ll need in Game 7 if we want a chance at another Finals trip.

Max Strus was also much better in this game. He struggled early on to get into a rhythm, but after swishing his first three of the game at the end of the shot clock, he was all smiles and looked much more comfortable out there. He finished with 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting from deep and some solid defense though he did foul out. Great to see him turn it around and show up for his team when they needed it the most. Also, why did it take us so long to get PJ Tucker in a Heat uniform!? Watching Tucker hustle on every play and do all the little things that you could ask for from a role player is just a thing of beauty. His defense on Jayson Tatum continues to be excellent despite the efficient shooting tonight from the Celtics star. Speaking of defense, do we survive this long in this series without the lockdown perimeter defense Victor Oladipo has provided us? He is constantly making life hell for anyone that tries to drive on him. Dipo is incredible at stripping the ball and his ability to make a plays on the other end and get to the line make him a valuable rotation piece. He had jmnine points, five rebounds, a steal and was a team-high +12.

Now on the Boston Celtics side, they got very solid performances from their stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Tatum finished with 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. He did have seven turnovers, which has been a recurring issue in Celtics losses, but the Heat had a lot of uncharacteristic turnovers as well. Brown had 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. He would foul out on a charging call drawn by Oladipo in the final moments of the game that would seal it. They also got a great performance from Derrick White, who finished with 22 points, five assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block. Just an impressive all-around performance. Fortunately, they didn’t get good performances from the rest of the team. Marcus Smart struggled to shoot all game and finished 1-of-9 from deep, Al Horford had his worst game of the playoffs and Robert Williams only had one rebound all game. They’ll definitely need more from those three guys if they want to close this series out in Miami.

That won’t be happening though because the Miami Heat have the guts and they are up to the challenge the world is putting in front of them. They are the underdogs and they love it. They’ll be going into Game 7, our favorite two words in sports, with all the momentum and a chance to head to the NBA Finals on their home floor. Lets get it Heat Nation!