Heat, Lakers in sight of conference semis
MIAMI, April 26 ------ Jimmy Butler conjured a dazzling 56-point performance as the Miami Heat came from behind to shove the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks to the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs Monday, while LeBron James led an overtime rally to give the Los Angeles Lakers a commanding series lead over the Memphis Grizzlies. Butler all but single-handedly led Miami to a 119-114 win that leaves the Bucks 3-1 down in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series.
In the Western Conference, the second-seeded Grizzlies are also staring down the barrel of an early playoff exit after the Lakers claimed a 117-111 victory to take a 3-1 series lead. James finished with 22 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists and grabbed a game-tying driving layup with 0.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to force overtime. He then marshalled the Lakers superbly in overtime, scoring four points to put the Lakers in sight of the conference semifinals.
But the performance of the day came in Miami, where Butler’s 56-point haul was the joint fourth-highest individual scoring total in an NBA playoff game ever. Only Michael Jordan (63 points), Elgin Baylor (61) and Donovan Mitchell (57) have scored more in a postseason game.
Milwaukee, who welcomed Giannis Antetokounmpo back into their lineup after a two-game injury absence, had looked to be cruising towards victory after leading from the opening seconds and keeping Miami at arm’s length throughout. Milwaukee led by 14 points early in the fourth quarter and seemed to be poised to square the series at two games apiece after a ruthless shooting performance from Brook Lopez, with Antetokounmpo providing scoring support.
Source: philstar.com
Editor's note:
The current standings in the NBA Playoffs are as follows:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Denver leads 3-1
Los Angeles leads 3-1
Series tied at 2-2
Phoenix leads 3-1
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Miami leads 3-1
Boston leads 3-1
Philadelphia wins series 4-0
New York leads 3-1
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