SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Warriors forward Jimmy Butler sat out Game 3 of Golden State’s first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets due to a pelvic contusion suffered during Game 2.
Jonathan Kuminga started for Butler, who scored 25 points in Game 1 before a frightening fall cut short his appearance in Game 2 and appeared to cast a shadow over the rest of the series.
Instead the Warriors won without Butler, receiving a vintage 36-point performance from Stephen Curry and stellar bench play en route to the 104-93 victory.
Golden State now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had expressed optimism that Butler might play as recently as Friday.
“I’m relatively optimistic, I mean Jimmy’s Jimmy. We know he’s willing to play through anything, so we’ll see,” Kerr said. “This is a day-to-day thing for sure and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. But I think there’s a chance he plays.”
Butler flew home from Houston and underwent an MRI exam Thursday in the Bay Area that revealed he injured his pelvis and has a deep gluteal muscle contusion. Game 4 is Monday (10 ET, TNT).
Butler, who has taken pressure off Stephen Curry by contributing on both ends since being acquired from Miami at the trade deadline, went down hard when fouled by Amen Thompson late in the first quarter and then missed the rest of the Warriors’ 109-94 Game 2 loss on Wednesday night.
Jimmy Butler exits Game 2 with a pelvic contusion after a hard fall and coach Steve Kerr isn’t sure if he will be available for Game 3.
Butler tried to secure a rebound when Thompson undercut him and sent the Warriors star’s feet high into the air, so he came down straight onto his tailbone. Both players thudded to the floor with the collision and Butler grimaced in pain, grabbing at his backside. He stayed in briefly to shoot two free throws before going to the locker room.
“Obviously, he’s a huge part of what they do,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Isolation scorer, cross matches, he likes to hunt those, so you can key in on Curry a little bit more obviously with him not on the court. And I think we did that for the most part.”
Houston’s Dillon Brooks on Friday defended Thompson for playing fairly and instead said, “I think the dirty player is Draymond (Green).”
When told Friday of Brooks’ comment, Kerr said: “Dillon said that? Interesting.”
Then with Memphis three years ago, Brooks’ Flagrant 2 foul on Gary Payton II during Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals during the Warriors’ championship run in 2022 fractured Payton’s elbow. He returned for Game 2 of Golden State’s six-game NBA Finals victory over Boston.
Butler has done so much on both ends since being traded to the Warriors from Miami in February.
In the Game 1 win against the Rockets, he had 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes of action. The Warriors are 25-9 since Butler made his debut at Chicago on Feb. 8, including 23-8 in the regular season, a play-in tournament win over Memphis and the two games facing Houston.
Now, if need be, Kerr will do his best to capitalize on the depth that has been such an asset all season — “not two game plans but two rotations for sure, the game plan doesn’t change,” he said.
“It’s a pain tolerance thing, that’s why it’s day to day,” Kerr said of Butler’s status.
Jonathan Kuminga hadn’t been on the court at all the previous three games but was called into the rotation with Butler hurt.
“Everybody’s going to step up and play a better role when he’s not out there,” Podziemski said. “Obviously it helps that we’re at home so role players, it makes it easier for them because the crowd’s playing with them. I think everybody’s just going to step up and play better. It’s the first home playoff game for many of us.”
Kerr called Butler’s injury similar to what Curry has done previously. Quinten Post, a 25-year-old backup center who played fewer than 700 minutes in the regular season, started Game 4 and finished with 12 rebounds and four assists in over 27 minutes of action.
“I’ve had that happen a couple of times and you know exactly what it is. It’s a matter of how bad it was and I don’t know,” Curry said after Game 3. “But it definitely changed the dynamic of our offense. Him and BP played a combined 21 minutes, so it kind of shuffled all the rotations a little bit.”
* * *
AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report.
