Miami Heat Capture Game 4 Behind Jimmy Butler's 36 Points
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler vowed he would atone for missing the final shot in Friday's one-point loss Game 3 to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Butler did more than that in Sunday's Game 4. He scored 36 points, including 13 in the second quarter, to help the Heat to a dominating 110-86 victory to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
“We had to find a different way to win this game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “A lot of it was our defensive toughness and versatility.”
Center Bam Adebayo added 14 points while Max Stus added 12 and Gabe Vincent had 11. Vincent started in place of Kyle Lowry, who was dealing with a hamstring injury.
In Game 3, Butler finished with a near triple-double but will be most remembered for missing the shot on the final possession.
Down by one, Butler misfired on a 3-point shot at the buzzer that allowed the Hawks to steal a 111-110 victory at State Farm Arena.
The Heat can close things out Tuesday in Game 5 in Miami at FTX Arena.
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