The Warriors expect six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler will return from his hip contusion in Game 4 of their ongoing series against Houston, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). A source informs Slater that Butler partook in an oncourt workout ahead of the team’s eventual Game 3 victory against Houston on Saturday. He was held out so that his body could better recuperate, but the team is hoping he will return for Game 4 on Monday.

Butler suffered the ailment during a fall early into Game 2, and has been sidelined ever since. Without him, Golden State has gone 1-1.

On Saturday, ESPN’s Shams Charania indicated to colleague Malika Andrews (Twitter video link) that Butler had had “no mobility” on Saturday, which ultimately led to the team’s decision to sit him.

Head coach Steve Kerr, meanwhile, indicated that he considers Butler officially day-to-day, and has no idea whether or not Butler will play, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (via Twitter).

There’s more out of Golden State:

• With Butler shelved, Warriors guard Buddy Hield stepped up to help the club secure a Game 3 home win, Slater writes in another piece. An eight-point Hield run in the second quarter helped stabilize Golden State heading into the halftime break. He ultimately finished with 17 points and a plus-14 across 29 minutes of action. “I knew Robin was out, so I had to step up,” Hield said, in an allusion to Butler’s repeated suggestion that he is the Robin to All-NBA guard Stephen Curry‘s Batman. “I had to be Alfred.”
• Stephen Curry was the star of the show for the Warriors in Game 3 on Saturday, per Youngmisuk in another article. The two-time league MVP took it upon himself to score more against a tough Rockets defense, notching 25 of his 36 total points in the second and third quarters to propel his team to a 104-93 victory. “He’s one [of the] greatest players of all time,” Kerr said. “He’s 37. He’s one of the most well-conditioned athletes I’ve ever seen in my life. To play 41 minutes against that kind of defense, to have a slow start and then find his rhythm, which we have seen him do countless times over the years, to hit big shots, to only turn it over twice against that kind of pressure, he was brilliant.”