ORLANDO (Florida) • Call Jimmy Butler a ball hog all you want, but when he is in the mood, there is little other National Basketball Association teams can do to contain him, even when they are the top seeds.
The Milwaukee Bucks learnt that the hard way as the All-Star seized control down the stretch, scoring a career play-off high of 40 points as the Miami Heat stunned the title contenders 115-104 in the opening game of their Eastern Conference semi-finals on Monday.
Butler was a one-man wrecking crew, scoring 13 of Miami's final 16 points at Disney World, with 27 of them coming in the second half.
The forward even warned teammates not to expect any passes with the game on the line and that single-mindedness is set to continue for the rest of the series.
"I told (them) I probably wasn't going to pass the ball. I made a couple of shots and they said, 'That's fine with me'," he said.
"I took it up a level in the fourth. If that's what needs to happen every game, I have got to do it."
The 30-year-old is well known for his abrasive personality, having bumped heads at former teams Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers.
But it appears that he is now feeling at home in Miami, where the fifth-seeded team is centred around his two-way talents.
After becoming just the third player in team history with a 40-point game in the play-offs, joining greats LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra insisted Butler's reputation as a toxic influence in the locker room was far from the truth.
"Jimmy, despite what the narrative is out there, he's a very likeable guy, and that helps in a setting like this (the bubble)," he said.
"He just fits everything about us, our fabric and who we are. Make or miss, everybody feels comfortable when he's making those decisions. He happened to score but he's a very unselfish player.
"It's not just about him scoring the ball, he makes the appropriate reads depending on what's needed for that particular game... we basically had to put the ball in his hands. He wants these kinds of moments."
Butler won over Wade and his teammates since arriving from the Sixers last summer.
"It's great to have D-Wade in my corner, I'm telling you. He's always in my phone, telling me about the game, what to look for. He's been a huge help. He's the first person that texts me tonight whenever I get back to the locker room," he said of the retired guard. "I'm learning. I've been learning. I will continue to learn. I just want to win, though. I can't say it enough.
"Andre (Iguodala) coming to me: 'Yo, win the game'. Goran (Dragic): 'Win the game'. Duncan (Robinson): 'Win the game'. And it's not about just scoring - it's about guarding, it's about making the right play, getting the 50-50 ball. That's all part of winning the game."
The all-round defensive effort by the Heat allowed Butler to flourish and smothered reigning Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose 18 points was his lowest since he was held to 12 in Game 3 of the East Finals last year.
Miami are 5-0 in the post-season, but the Greek forward is convinced his team, who were similarly shocked in the opening game against the Orlando Magic only to win the first-round series 4-1, can bounce back in Game 2 today.
"We've been here before," he said. "Going down against Orlando. We did the same thing last year against Boston (Celtics).
"We've got to come out and play Game 2, man. It's a big game. Our season is on the line. We've got to play hard, watch the tape, make the adjustment, be aggressive, make the right play and hopefully, we can win the game."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
