Jimmy Butler Named Eastern Conference Finals MVP

Jimmy Butler has been named the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Conference Finals, according to the NBA (via Twitter).

The Heat stymied the Celtics’ bid to become the first NBA team to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-0. Butler had 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals as Miami thumped Boston on the Celtics’ home court by a score of 103-84.

For the series, Butler averaged 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists as the eighth-seeded Heat continued their improbable postseason run. The only other No. 8 seed to reach the Finals was the 1999 Knicks. This year’s Finals will begin at Denver on Thursday.

Caleb Martin certainly made a strong case for Eastern Conference MVP with his 26-point, 10-rebound performance in Game 7. Martin averaged 19.3 points and 6.4 rebounds while making 48.9% of his 3-point attempts over the course of the series. Butler edged out Martin 5-4 in the voting by the media panel (Twitter link).

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