Miami Heat flipped sides in Finals Game 3 despite ruling out Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic due to injuries. Jimmy Butler put up a stunning show and played good basketball to come back in the series 2-1 against the Lakers.

The momentum never went off the table for Miami Heat throughout the match, and the team was glued together by Butler’s control. The star player recorded a triple-double with 40 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds. That stands as the third 40-point triple-double in NBA Finals history after Jerry West and LeBron James.

Butler was shooting an incredible 14-for-20 (70%) from the floor and also made two steals and two blocks. The fascinating bit is, he didn’t attempt a single bucket from beyond the arc, but got all his shots from the field and the free-throw line.

It was a mind-baffling performance, both on offensive and defensive ends. Butler was controlling the game, and the team followed through his spirit till the very end of it. Tyler Herro and Kelly Olynyk, each had 17 points to their name and others also made their contributions.

Jimmy Butler extended impressive leadership, considered key to Miami’s victory

Butler’s leadership has been talked about at length so far, and Lakers’ legend, Magic Johnson, did so as well. His tweet read, “Jimmy Butler displayed his tremendous leadership ability tonight as well. Before the game he said he felt good about the Heat chances showing he had a good pulse on the team.”

Clearly, Butler has seen immense praise on this day. He led from the front in every manner and made Game 3 a tremendous watch for fans.

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It was a complete victory for Miami as they showed significant improvement in defending the Lakers’ offensive powerhouses. They were successful in restricting Anthony Davis to a mere five points at halftime and 15 by the end of the game. LeBron tried to make his way past the Eastern opponents, but his team crumbled in front of Heat’s determination.

Many did expect the early lead by Miami, considering they were down by two games in the series. But Erik Spoelstra’s team did something phenomenal to be able to bounce back throughout the course of it.

If this is how Butler holds up his team without their two key players, what could happen if they got Adebayo and Dragic back?