Heat star Jimmy Butler exploded for 56 points on Monday night to lead No. 8 seed Miami to a 3–1 series lead over the No. 1 seed Bucks.
Butler, who has earned the moniker of “Playoff Jimmy” for the way that he’s elevated his game when the lights are brightest, put on an astonishing performance—even for him. The six-time All-Star’s performance was so good on Monday night that basketball analyst Charles Barkley called it “the best performance” he’s seen since he’s been on television.
“The best performance I’ve ever seen in the playoffs was the night LeBron scored 29 out of 30 in Detroit … 25 straight and 29 out of 30. That’s the best game I’ve seen in the playoffs personally … until tonight,” Barkley began. “That was the best performance I’ve seen since I’ve been on television. It was flat-out incredible. It was an honor and privilege to watch it. But man, that guy was not going to let them lose tonight.”
"That was the best performance I've seen since I've been on television... It was flat out incredible" 🔥
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 25, 2023
-Chuck on Jimmy Butler's Game 4 #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/rLOucezxJp
Barkley has watched a lot of basketball over the years as an analyst for TNT. Perhaps this is a “prisoner of the moment” take, but there is no doubt that Butler put together one of the best performances of his career Monday night.
As a result, the Heat have the East’s top seed on the brink of elimination, with three opportunities to close them out and move on to the second round of the playoffs.
