Jimmy Butler Electrifies Twitter After Carrying Heat to Play-In Win vs. Bulls

Playoff Jimmy took center stage when it mattered most once again.

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half to help lead his team to a 102-91 home win over the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. The Heat now advance to the playoffs to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in Round 1.

Points were hard to come by on a night that harkened back to 1990s pro basketball given the defensive intensity and physicality. Max Strus was an exception as he dropped 23 points in the first half thanks in part to six three-pointers to provide Miami with a 49-44 lead at the break. He ended the contest tied with Butler for a game-high 31.

The Bulls stormed back and led by as much as six points in the fourth quarter thanks in part to DeMar DeRozan (team-high 26 points), but Butler dominated in the last frame with 11 in the final seven minutes.

Butler punished Bulls defenders in the paint, making tough layups (including an and-1) and knocking down a pair of free throws with 26.1 seconds remaining. His efforts helped the Heat score 35 fourth-quarter points.

The other Heat starters struggled from the field. Bam Adebayo grabbed 17 rebounds but shot just 1-of-9. Tyler Herro had eight rebounds and seven dimes but missed all five of his threes. Gabe Vincent went scoreless in 27 minutes.

However, Strus kick-started the Heat's victory, and Butler took the baton to see this team through as the eighth seed in the playoffs.

Twitter was enamored with another Playoff Jimmy performance as the Heat advanced to the postseason for the fourth straight year.

Miami will visit Milwaukee for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series on Sunday at Fiserv Forum. Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. ET.