When Jimmy Butler hit the ground in Game 2 of the Warriors’ first-round series against the Rockets, it didn’t look like he’d be back on the court any time soon. So when Golden State cleared him to return from his pelvic contusion for Game 4 on Monday, it seemed very reasonable to question just how much the six-time All-Star could contribute in the heat of a nasty, physical series against a Houston team that would be fighting tooth and nail to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole.
“A lot of pain,” Butler said of the days following his Game 2 fall, which included round-the-clock treatment to try to get him back on the floor. “And then I woke up today, and I was good enough.”
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For most of the early going, it didn’t look like it. Butler had just four points on three field goal attempts, two rebounds, two assists and a block in the first half, with Golden State getting outscored by seven points in his 18 minutes — a dramatic departure from the franchise-shifting all-around impact he has made since arriving in the Bay back in February.
Sometimes, though, all it takes to light a fire is one little spark. Like, say, some spirited trash talk from one of the NBA’s preeminent antagonists.
After Butler and Rockets forward Dillon Brooks exchanged, um, unpleasantries during a pair of Tari Eason free throws, Butler made the verbal physical, delivering a hard foul from behind on Brooks to prevent a breakaway dunk. (Given how many official reviews we saw during the second quarter, it seemed surprising that the refs didn’t head to the monitors on that one.) Brooks missed both free throws, but another Golden State giveaway and fast-break dunk sent Houston into halftime up seven … and sent Butler into the locker room with a bit more gas in his tank.
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“People start talking to you,” Butler told reporters after the game. “Then good things happen.”
Like, say, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter, hitting the game-icing free throws and skying to grab the rebound that sealed a massive Game 4 win.
Butler’s first shot of the second half was a midrange pull-up bank shot over Brooks. It cashed, part of an 18-1 run to start the second half that got him and the Warriors off to the races.
“I mean, I like it,” Butler said after the game. “I think we all like when people start chirping. It’s been this way this entire series. I don’t think it’s going to change.”
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Don’t get it twisted, though: Just because Butler’s comfortable with some verbal jousting, that doesn’t mean he’s got any reservoir of fond feelings for his counterpart. Well, not for this particular counterpart, at least.
“No, we’re not having fun,” Butler said. “Get me on the record with this: I don’t like Dillon Brooks. We’re never having fun. I’m a fierce competitor. He’s a fierce competitor. There ain’t nothing fun about that.”
The heightened competition led Butler to raise his level, scoring or assisting on 32 of the Warriors’ 59 second-half points.
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“I think what was most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked to get him the ball,” Warriors star Draymond Green told reporters. “When you [got] him the ball, he made great things happen for himself or for others. It was huge.”
That included the final seven, with Butler beating Brooks at half-court in transition, driving into the paint and finishing through contact from Jabari Smith Jr. …
… before drawing a three-shot foul on Brooks with 58.1 seconds to go in a tie game:
Butler made all three freebies, putting Golden State on top in the final minute. And with the Rockets down one and the game in the balance, after Green forced an Alperen Șengün miss, it was Butler who soared in from the corner to make sure that a Houston team that has dominated the offensive glass in this series wouldn’t get one more look.
“I told Dray, ‘If you get a stop, I will get the rebound,’” Butler said. “He got the stop, and I got the rebound.”
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After grabbing the board, taking the foul, hitting two more free throws and watching Fred VanVleet’s last-gasp look at a would-be game-tying 3-pointer come up short, Butler finished with 27 points on 7-for-12 shooting, six assists, five rebounds and a block in 40 minutes. It was the second playoff game of his career with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists without a turnover; only 10 players in NBA/ABA history have more.
“The first three quarters, he couldn’t move,” Green told reporters after the game. “Not sure how he started moving in the fourth quarter.”
Well, spite can be a hell of a motivator. So, too, can the chance to take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven set — a position that, across NBA history, has led to a series victory 95.5% of the time.
Golden State now has three chances to close the Rockets out, starting with Game 5 on Wednesday in Houston. The sooner they can take care of business, the more R&R Butler will get before a Western Conference semifinals matchup with either the Timberwolves or Lakers — and, Monday’s second-half heroics aside, it sounds like he could use it.
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“I’m not going to say that I’m not hurting,” Butler said. “It’s a good pain whenever it’s all toward winning. I feel like they got me here to help do something special. If I’m out there on the floor, I’m expected to produce and help win.”
That’s exactly what he’s done since arriving in mid-February: The Warriors are now 25-8 when Butler plays, and 25-6 — a 66-win pace — when Butler, Green and Stephen Curry are all in the lineup. One more win sends them to the second round — and sends Brooks, and the rest of the Rockets, on an early summer vacation.
“Fun is winning,” Butler said. “Fun is competing. And it’s gonna be fun whenever we get four.”
This news was originally published on this post .
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