With a stellar performance by Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat won 118-107 against the Boston Celtics in the first game of the Eastern Conference finals, played on Tuesday night, May 17 at the FTX Arena.
Jimmy Butler vs Jayson Tatum
the Celtics, led by Jayson Tatum, began dominating all the transitions of the match during the first two quarters. But Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler closed the scoring gap to go into halftime with a score of 54-62 for Boston.
The visitors made 59% of their shots in the first two quarters and put 42 of their 62 points in the paint.
in the third quarter the jimmy butler show startedscoring 17 points while leading Miami’s comeback against a Celtics that were affected by fatigue and the absences of Al Horford due to covid-19 and Marcus Smart due to a sprained right foot.
Butler ended the game being the great figure of the night, where registered 41 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks.
In addition, the 32-year-old American became the third player in the NBA with more games of more than 40 points and at least 60% shooting from the fieldsecond only to Shaquille O’Neal (8) and LeBron James (12).
Western Conference
In the Western Conference finals, the Warriors will host the Dallas Mavericks today at the Chase Center stadium in the city of San Francisco.
At the match Luka Doncic (Mavericks) and Stephen Curry (Warriors) will face each othertwo of the best players of the 2022 NBA season.
The winners of the eastern and western conferences will meet in the NBA Finals, which will begin next Thursday, June 2.
