The most notable former Chicago Bulls player left in the playoffs at this point, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, wasn’t able to get past the Bucks in Game 4.
Former Chicago Bulls star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler had a chance to get his team to the next round of the NBA playoffs on Sep. 6, but wasn’t able to do so in the end. Butler and the Miami Heat had a 3-0 series lead as the five-seed in the second round of the playoffs against reigning NBA MVP and superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Bucks.
Game 4 was rather close between the Heat and Bucks, but the former of the two teams wasn’t able to continue their winning streak in the playoffs on Sunday afternoon. Although Giannis was dealing with an ankle injury that kept him out of most of Game 4, the Heat weren’t able to close the series sweep.
This was a really close game, with the final score coming down in the Bucks favor 118-115. All-Star small forward/shooting guard Khris Middleton had a big day to pick up for the Bucks in the absence of Giannis. Middleton finished up with a whopping 36 points on 12-of-28 shooting from the field. That went along with eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and four turnovers.
Butler had an off day by his usual consideration. He finished up with 17 points (tied for the least of any of the Heat starters in this game) on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. He added five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three turnovers. This was the worst game of the series so far for Butler.
The most productive player for the Heat in Game 4 was first-time All-Star selection and center Bam Adebayo. He finished up with a team-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. Bam added 12 rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and just one turnover.
This is still a series that the Heat should have in hand given that Middleton had to go off in the second half to keep the Bucks in this game. And Butler won’t have that many off games for the Heat throughout the rest of a seven game series.
The next game between the Bucks and Heat in this second round series tips off on Sep. 8 at 5:30 p.m. CT. Before falling short to the Bucks to round out the weekend, the Heat were looking for their second consecutive series sweep. Butler and the Heat took care of business in round one against the four-seed Indiana Pacers in a four-game sweep.