In just their first season together, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat have achieved great success. Courtesy of a 103-94 Game 5 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the best regular-season record, the franchise has reached its first Conference Finals since 2014 and became the first No. 5 seed to reach the Conference Finals since the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013.
This is Butler's first Conference Finals appearance of his career but he isn't content with just getting there.
'Means a lot. But that's not my goal," Butler said of getting one round closer to the NBA Finals. "That's not my guys' goal. That's not the organisation's goal. We want to win ‘it. We want a championship and I think that's what we're focused on."
“We’ll keep playing our best style of basketball and keep being the Miami Heat.”
— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 9, 2020
Jimmy after the No. 5 seed @MiamiHEAT advance to the ECF. pic.twitter.com/X7pKIpZQvt
The Bucks, who were without their MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo, got off to a fast start in Game 5 but the Heat battled back behind a huge second quarter. From then on, the Heat simply never let go of the advantage and held on for the win.
"It was tough, they are a really good team," Butler said in his on-court postgame interview. "Obviously, they missed their MVP."
Six players finished in double figures for the Heat led by Butler's 17 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. The series win was a team effort but twice in this matchup with the Bucks, the 6'7" forward took over the game late.
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In Game 1, en route to scoring 40 points, he scored 13 of the team's last 16 points to seal the win. In Game 3, he scored 17 of his 30 in the final quarter as the Heat took a 3-0 series lead by outscoring the Bucks 40-13 in the fourth.
"He’s such a likable guy," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said as he began heaping praise on Butler. "He wouldn’t want anybody to know that, I guess ... He’s just about winning.”
Through two rounds of the playoffs, the Heat's 8-1 record is the best record among all teams remaining in the bubble. Their 4-1 series win over the Bucks comes after they swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round.
How much further can they go? Only time will tell, as they await the winner of the Celtics-Raptors series.
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