HOUSTON – April 20: Jimmy Butler of the Golden State Warriors warms up prior to Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on April 20, 2025, in Houston.
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After the Warriors squandered a prime opportunity in front of a hungry Chase Center crowd to send the pesky Houston Rockets packing in Game 6, Jimmy Butler didn’t mince words.
In fact, shortly after the loss on Friday night, he delivered an assertive guarantee.
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“We gonna win together, we gonna lose together. But I know we’re definitely gonna win together come Sunday,” Butler told reporters when asked about what the Warriors will need from their role players to pull off a Game 7 victory on Sunday.
It’s a bold declaration in a series that suddenly puts Golden State on the brink of an epic 3-1 series collapse that Warriors fans know all too well. In NBA postseason history, teams that hold that advantage in a best-of-seven series are a remarkable 277-13, good for a .955 all-time win percentage.
Butler’s comments come on the heels of another lackluster performance from the Warriors’ supporting cast, most notably Buddy Hield, who was starting to earn his postseason stripes in Game 4, but put up 0 points on 0-4 shooting from beyond the arc after being inserted into the starting lineup for a third consecutive game.
Gary Payton II, who was given the starting nod in Game 4, was a -12 in the plus-minus department, while his primary defensive assignment, Fred VanVleet, torched the Warriors for 29 points and six 3-pointers, including a backbreaking 4-point play to start a disastrous fourth quarter.
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Quinten Post was just 1-4 from beyond the arc and secured just one rebound as his counterpart Steven Adams poured in 17 points and five boards off the bench.
Overall, the Warriors shot just 30.6% on 3-point FGs, and missed 14 of their first 15 shots in a fourth quarter that saw the Rockets balloon their lead from 2 points to as high as 17.
“Confidence. Keep them confident, keep doing what y’all are doing,” Butler said. “It’s not on ya’ll, it’s on all of us.”
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Butler’s postgame words underscore Golden State’s need of a significant boost from someone not named Stephen Curry or Butler in order to avoid a disastrous end to their season.
Game 7 is slated to be in Houston on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., showing on TNT and NBC Sports Bay Area.
