Jimmy Butler leads Miami Heat back to Eastern Conference finals

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The Miami Heat are going to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three years after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 99-90 in Game 6 of their second-round series on Thursday night.

It has been the case throughout the series that Jimmy Butler led the way when his team needed him the most. After scoring just three points in the first half, he scored 14 in the third quarter to finish with 32.

Max Strus picked up the offensive slack for the second game in a row, pouring in 16 of his 20 points in the first half while setting the tone for a Heat team that came in confident it would knock down shots after going just 14-for-65 from beyond the rim during losses in Games

The main storylines came into and during the series, with the injuries of Embiid being the main one. Over the last week and a half, it was the overall performance ofButler that rose to the forefront, as he struggled to put up the type of performances that defined his regular season.

After a shaky Game 1 where he went just 5-for-16 from the field, he found his rhythm and pushed his game close to the level he performed at during the playoffs in 2020. In the first two games of the series, he scored 73 points and had nine rebound and six assists.

The entire organization really believes in the player that I am, and that's why I've been able to raise the level of my game over the last three years in Miami. They allow me to be who I am.

They allow me to hoop and not say much. They were good, bad, and indifferent. I think that is the best feeling to have right now in the playoffs. I think that is the reason Pat Riley brought me here.

The Heat await the winner of the Celtics series. The series is tied at 2-2. Game 6 is in Milwaukee.

The two teams have met in the playoffs before. The Heat lost to the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2020 before they lost to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals in 2021.