Butler explodes for 56 as Heat overcome Giannis' return, push Bucks to brink

Jimmy Butler scored a Miami playoff record 56 points, and the Heat roared back from 14 points down in the final quarter to stun the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 119-114 on Monday night to put the NBA's top overall seed on the brink of early elimination.

The 56 points also became Butler's career high. He was 19 for 28 from the field, 15 of 18 from the foul line and added nine rebounds for eighth-seeded Miami — which took a 3-1 lead over the Bucks in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Bam Adebayo scored 15, Caleb Martin had 12 and Gabe Vincent scored 10 for the Heat. Game 5 is at Milwaukee on Wednesday.

And the Bucks led almost the whole way, until the Heat roared back in the final minutes.

Butler had 21 of his points in the fourth, and the Heat still trailed 101-89 after a layup by Lopez with 6:09 left.

That's when a 13-0 run, capped by a Butler dunk off a Bucks turnover, put Miami up for the first time all night with 3:17 left — 102-101.

The lead changed hands four more times, and Butler's 3-pointer with 1:20 left put Miami ahead for good.

He added a step-back jumper on Miami's next possession, punched the air in celebration, and the Heat knew they would soon be leaving with a 3-1 lead.

But Butler was better than ever.

He set the tone early — with the highest-scoring quarter of his career. He had 22 of Miami's 28 first-quarter points, including 20 in a row over a span of 5:45 late in the period.

And in the fourth, he had 21 more — leading a massive comeback.

LeBron powers Lakers past Grizzlies

LeBron James made the tying layup with 0.8 seconds left in regulation before scoring four of his 22 points in overtime, and the Los Angeles Lakers surged to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 117-111 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

Los Angeles surged back from a seven-point deficit with five minutes left in regulation with a rally that abruptly began when D'Angelo Russell hit three consecutive 3-pointers, and the Lakers never trailed in OT.

Desmond Bane scored 36 points and hit a tiebreaking layup with 6.7 seconds left in regulation for the second-seeded Grizzlies, who will have to rally from a 3-1 series deficit and win a Game 7 for the first time in franchise history to advance.

Ja Morant scored 19 points with his injured right hand, but Davis blocked his jumper at the regulation buzzer.

James coolly scored the basket that forced overtime over heavy defensive pressure, and he hit a huge layup while getting fouled to put the Lakers up by five with 29.1 seconds to play. Dennis Schroder and Austin Reaves buried two free throws apiece to seal the Lakers' 12th win in 15 games dating to the regular season.

Game 5 is Wednesday night in Memphis, with Game 6 back in Los Angeles on Friday.